' ':k «?.'
SERVICE DES ANTIQUITES DE L’EGYPTE
..T I ■
n ■'! i ’
EXCAVATIONS AT SAKKARA
GREAT TOMBS OF THE
FIRST DYNASTY
III
BY
WALTER B. EMERY
M.B.E., M.A., F.S.A.
EDWARDS PROFESSOR OF EGYPTOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
WITH THE COLLABORATION OF
ADOLF KLASENS, D.Litt.
EGYPT EXPLORATION SOCIETY
2 HINDE STREET, LONDON, W.l
1958
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
III
SERVICE DES ANTIQUITES DE L’EGYPTE
EXCAVATIONS AT SAKKARA
GREAT TOMBS OF THE
BY
WALTER B. EMERY
M.B.E., M.A., F.S.A.
EDWARDS PROFESSOR OF EGYPTOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
WITH THE COLLABORATION OE
ADOLF KLASENS, D.Litt.
EGYPT EXPLORATION SOCIETY
2 HINDE STREET, LONDON, W.l
1958
LONDON
Sold at
THE OFFICES OF THE EGYPT EXPLORATION SOCIETY
2 Hinde Street, London, IF. 1
also by
BERNARD QUARITCH, II Grafton Street, New Bond Street, W. 1
RE GAN PAUL, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.
38 Great Russell Street, W.G. 1
GEORGE SALBY, 65 Great Russell Street, W.G. 1
© Egypt Exploration Society 1958
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD
BY CHARLES BATEY
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
CONTENTS
PREFACE yii
PART I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1
PART II. TOMB No. 3505
Chapter I. Introduction 5
Chapter II. Architecture 6
1. General Description. 2. The Enclosure Wall and Corridor. 3. The Outer Walls. 4. The Superstructure
of the Tomb. 5. The Substructure of the Tomb. 6. The Funerary Temple. 7. The Subsidiary Grave
Chapter III. The Discovery 11
1. The Superstructure. 2. The Substructure. 3. The Subsidiary Grave. 4. The Funerary Temple
Chapter IV. The Contents 14
1. Miscellaneous Objects. 2. Flint Implements. 3. Pottery. 4. Stone Vessels. 5. Inscribed Material
PART III. TOMB No. 3506
Chapter V. Introduction 37
Chapter VI. Architecture 38
1. The First Structure. 2. The Second Structure: the Substructure. 3. The Enclosure Wall and Corridor.
4. The Superstructure. 5. The Subsidiary Graves. 6. The Boat Grave
Chapter VII. The Discovery 43
1. The Superstructure. 2. The Substructure. 3. The Subsidiary Burials. 4. The Funerary Boat
Chapter VIII. The Contents 50
1. Miscellaneous Objects. 2. Flint Implements. 3. Pottery. 4. Stone Vessels. 5. Inscribed Material
PART IV. TOMB No. 3507
Chapter IX. Introduction 73
Chapter X. Architecture 75
1. General Description. 2. The Enclosure Wall and Corridor. 3. The Superstructure. 4. The Substructure.
5. The Tumulus
Chapter XI. The Discovery 78
1. The Superstructure. 2. The Substructure.
VI
CONTENTS
Chapter XII. The Contents
7 . SfcMe^^ss^^^IA&oribedM^eri^l 1168 4 ‘ MisceUaneous 0b i ects - 5 - ^nt Implements. 6. Pottery.
81
PART V. TOMB No. 3500
Chaptek XIII. Introduction
Chapter XIV. Architecture
1. General Description. 2. The Enclosure Wall,
subsidiary Graves
3. The Superstructure. 4. The Substructure.
5. The
98
99
Chapter XV. The Discovery
1. The Superstructure. 2. The Substructure. 3. The Subsidiary Burials
Chapter XVI. The Contents
1. MiseeUaneoiia Objects. 2. Hint Implement.. 3. Pottery. 4. stone Vemeb. 5. In.cribed Materid
PREFACE
This volume contains the record of the Society’s excavation of the remaining tombs of the
First Dynasty in the Archaic Necropolis at North Sakkara during the seasons of 1954, 1955,
and 1956. As with the previous reports, it is a purely factual account of the work and its results;
the conclusions and appreciations derived from these results will be published in a final volume
now in course of preparation.
Throughout the whole period of these excavations I have been greatly aided by Dr. Adolf
Klasens of Leiden Museum, who first joined us in 1953. He has assisted me in the preparation of
this report and is responsible for the analysis of the inscribed material contained in it.
The Society has continued its policy of training post-graduate students in field work and in
19541 had the assistance of Mr. Harry Smith of Cambridge and Mr. Anthony Abbati of Univer¬
sity College, London; in 1955 of Mr. Henry Fisher of the Philadelphia Museum, U.S.A., and
Mr. Eric Uphill of Cambridge, and in 1956 of Mr. David Dixon of University College, London;
to all of whom I wish to express my thanks for their valuable work. During each of these seasons
the domestic management of the camp was under the direction of my wife, whose long experi¬
ence in such matters went far to contribute to the smooth running of each expedition.
Finally I must record my gratitude to my old colleagues of the Egyptian Government Depart¬
ment of Antiquities for their unstinted help and co-operation.
WALTER B. EMERY
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON
April 1957
LIST OF PLATES
1. Sketch map showing the escarpnjent edge of Sakkara North.
2. Tomb No. 3505. Plan.
3. Tomb No. 3505. Section.
4. Tomb No. 3505. Plan of the substructure.
5. Tomb No. 3505. Subsidiary grave in east corridor. Axonometric projection.
6. Tomb No. 3505. Painted decoration of the large niche of the superstructure
fagade.
7. Tomb No. 3505. Painted decoration of the small niche of the superstructure
fagade.
8. Tomb No. 3505. Painted decoration of the simplified panelling of the superstructure fagade.
9. Tomb No. 3505. [a) General view from the north-east.
(6) General view from the north-wes£.
(c) Start of the excavations, with Tomb 3504 in the fore¬
ground.
10. Tomb No. 3505. (a) East face of outer enclosure wall.
(6) East outer corridor.
11. Tomb No. 3505. (a) East outer corridor, from the south.
(6) East outer corridor, from the north.
12. Tomb No. 3505.. {a) East outer corridor. View from floor level.
(6) East fagade of the superstructure.
13. Tomb No. 3505. (a) North-east corner of superstructure, showing bull's head
on the bench.
(6) North fagade of the superstructure.
14. Tomb No. 3505. (a) North-east corner of the superstructure.
(6) North-west corner of the superstructure.
15. Tomb No. 3505. (a) West fagade of the superstructure from the south.
(6) West fagade of the superstructure from the north.
16. Tomb No. 3505. (a) Small niche of the fagade of the superstructure.
(6) Large niche of the fagade of the superstructure.
17. Tomb No. 3505. (a) Painted decoration of the west fagade of the super¬
structure.
(b) The west fagade of the superstructure from the south.
18. Tomb No. 3505. (a) Head of the entrance stairway to the substructure.
( b ) Foot of the entrance stairway to the substructure.
19. Tomb No. 3505. (a) East end of the substructure.
( b ) West wall of the substructure.
20. Tomb No. 3505. {a) North shelf of the substructure.
(6) South shelf of the substructure.
21. Tomb No. 3505. {a) East end of the substructure, showing shelving.
- (6) West shelf of the substructure.
22. Tomb No. 3505. (a) Subsidiary grave in the east corridor.
X
LIST OF PLATES
LIST OF PLATES
xi
22 .
23. Tomb No. 3505.
24. Tomb No. 3505.
25. Tomb No. 3505.
26. Tomb No. 3505.
27. Tomb No. 3505.
28. Tomb No. 3505.
29. Tomb No. 3505.
30. Tomb No. 3505.
31. Tomb No. 3505.
32. Tomb No. 3505.
33. Tomb No. 3505.
34. Tomb No. 3505.
35. Tomb No. 3505.
36. Tomb No. 3505.
37. Tomb No. 3505.
38. Tomb No. 3505.
39. Tomb No. 3505.
40. Tomb No. 3506.
41. Tomb No. 3506.
42. Tomb No. 3506.
43. Tomb No. 3506.
44. Tomb No. 3506.
45. Tomb No. 3506.
46. Tomb No. 3506.
47. Tomb No. 3506.
48. Tomb No. 3506.
49. Tomb No. 3506.
50. Tomb No. 3506.
51. Tomb No. 3506.
52. Tomb No. 3506.
53. Tomb No. 3506.
(6) Detail of the subsidiary grave.
(а) The stela of Merka as found.
(б) The stela of Merka.
(a) The temple from the south-east.
(b) The temple from the north-east.
(а) Stone paving in the temple.
(б) Reed matting on the walls of the temple.
(а) Remains of the wooden sarcophagus.
(б) Human remains and part of the sarcophagus.
Remains of wooden statues in the temple.
(а) , (b) Inscriptions of King Seneferka.
(c) -(A) Examples of clay jar sealings.
Types of pottery vessels.
Types of pottery vessels.
Types of pottery vessels.
Types of pottery vessels.
Pot-marks.
Types of stone vessels.
Types of stone vessels.
Types of stone vessels.
Inscribed material.
Inscribed material.
The stela of Merka.
Plan.
Sections.
Axonometric projection of the first substructure.
Axonometric projection of the second substructure.
Reconstruction of a boat burial.
Sub-burial No. 1.
Sub-burial No. 2.
Sub-burial No. 3.
Sub-burial No. 4.
Sub-burial No. 5.
{a) General view of the east fayade of the superstructure.
(б) General view of the west fa§ade of the superstructure.
(a) Part of the west fa 9 ade and corridor.
(b) Detail of the panelling of the west fa 9 ade.
(a) Timber roofing over the main entrance stairway.
(b) Timber roofing of the entrance stairway below the super¬
structure.
(
(a) Pottery deposit in the filling of the main entrance stair¬
way.
( b ) Brick blocking at the foot of the main entrance stairway.
54. Tomb No. 3506.
55. Tomb No. 3506.
56. Tomb No. 3506.
57. Tomb No. 3506.
58. Tomb No. 3506.
59. Tomb No. 3506.
60. Tomb No. 3506.
61. Tomb No. 3506.
62. Tomb No. 3506.
63. Tomb No. 3506.
64. Tomb No. 3506.
65. Tomb No. 3506.
66. Tomb No. 3506.
67. Tomb No. 3506.
68. Tomb No. 3506.
69. Tomb No. 3506.
70. Tomb No. 3506.
71. Tomb No. 3506.
72. Tomb No. 3506.
73. Tomb No. 3506.
74. Tomb No. 3506.
(a) Main entrance stairway.
(b) Entrance stairway and gate.
(c) Stairway after the removal of the top steps.
(d) Original steps below the head of the entrance stairway,
(a) Entrance stairway from below.
(5) Entrance stairway from above.
{a) View of the substructure from the north-west.
(5) View of the substructure from above.
(a) Magazines on the west side of the substructure.
(6) Magazines on the east side of the substructure.
Remains of wooden flooring of the substructure.
Remains of wooden flooring of the substructure.
(а) Wooden floor of the substructure from the south.
(б) Wooden floor of the substructure from the north.
Remains of the burial on the floor of the substructure.
The upper magazines of the substructure.
The gallery surrounding the pit of the substructure after the
removal of* the upper magazines.
(а) North-west corner of the substructure showing the white
plastered walls and floor disclosed by the removal of the
lower magazines.
(б) Stairway and entrance gate, showing the white plastered
walls and floor of the first structure.
The south-west stairway to the gallery surrounding the sub¬
structure.
(а) Pottery deposits in the funerary boat.
(б) The funerary boat after the removal of the pottery.
(a) The funerary boat from the east.
(b) The boat-grave from the west.
(a) The funerary boat from the south-east.
(b) Third Dynasty brickwork over the boat-grave.
(c) The funerary boat from the west.
Examples of clay jar sealings.
(a), (b ) Examples of foreign pottery.
(c), ( d ) Examples of stone vessels.
(а) Superstructure of sub-burial No. 1.
(б) Sub-burial No. 1.
(c) Sub-burial No. 2.
(d) Wooden roofing of sub-burial No. 2.
(a) Superstructure of sub-burial No. 3.
(b) Sub-burial No. 3.
(c) Sub-burial No. 4.
(d) Sub-burial No. 5.
Types of pottery vessels.
Types of pottery vessels.
Xll
LIST OF PLATES
75. Tomb No. 3506. Types of pottery vessels.
76. Tomb No. 3506. Pot-marks.
77. Tomb No. 3506. Types of stone vessels.
78. Tomb No. 3506. Inscribed material.
79. Tomb No. 3506. Inscribed material.
80. Tomb No. 3506. Inscribed material.
81. Tomb No. 3506. Inscribed material.
82. Tomb No. 3506. Inscribed material.
83. Tomb No. 3506. Inscribed material.
84. Tomb No. 3506. Markings on jar sealings.
85. Tomb No. 3507. Plan and section.
86. Tomb No. 3507. Construction of the burial pit. Axonometric projection.
87. Tomb No. 3507. East fagade of the superstructure.
88. Tomb No. 3507. (a) East fagade of the superstructure.
(b) East fagade, corridor and enclosure wall.
89. Tomb No. 3507. (a) A large niche in the east fagade.
(6) Gateway entrance through the east enclosure wall.
90. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Bull heads on the west fagade.
(6) Bull head on the east fagade.
91. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Pottery deposit in the east corridor.
(b) Dog burial at the entrance gate.
92. Tomb No. 3507. Remains of tumulus superstructure below magazine walls.
93. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Remains of tumulus below magazine walls.
(b) Remains of tumulus showing brick casing.
94. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Top of the burial pit from the north.
(6) Rock-cut stairway to the first floor of burial pit.
95. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Floor of the burial pit from the south.
(b) Floor of the burial pit from the north.
96. Tomb No. 3507. {a) Remains of the wooden sarcophagus.
(b) Limestone lintel from the burial pit.
97. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Limestone slab. Obverse.
(6) Limestone slab. Reverse.
98. Tomb No. 3507. Line drawing of limestone slab.
99. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Gold and carnelian necklace.
(b) Blue faience beadwork.
100. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Fragments of an ivory gaming-board frame. Cat. Nos.
75-78.
(b) Bracelets of schist, onyx, ivory, and flint.
101. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Flint implements.
(b) Slate palettes.
102. Tomb No. 3507. Ivory objects.
103. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Chalice-shaped cup of schist and pink limestone.
(5) Toilet utensils.
LIST OF PLATES
xiii
104. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Rock crystal vessels.
(b) Rock crystal vessels.
(c) Vessels of schist and diorite.
(d) Vessels of alabaster.
(e) Vessels of alabaster.
105. Tomb No. 3507. (a) Inscriptions on stone vessels.
(b) Painted inscriptions on pottery.
(c) Clay jar sealings.
(d) Clay jar sealings.
106. Tomb No. 3507. Inscribed material.
107. Tomb No. 3507. Inscribed material.
108. Tomb No. 3507. Types of beads.
109. Tomb No. 3507. Types of pottery vessels.
110. Tomb No. 3507. Types of pottery vessels.
111. Tomb No. 3507. Pot-marks.
112. Tomb No. 3507. Types of stone vessels.
113. Tomb No. 3507. Types of stone vessels.
114. Tomb No. 3500. Plan and section.
115. Tomb No. 3500. Axonometric projection of magazine.
116. Tomb No. 3500. Constructional detail of subsidiary grave.
117. Tomb No. 3500. (a) Offering niche in the east fagade.
(b) The magazine.
118. Tomb No. 3500. (a) Stack of pottery in the west room of the magazine.
(6) Granaries in the east room of the magazine.
119. Tomb No. 3500. (a) West end of the substructure.
(b) East end of the substructure.
120. Tomb No. 3500. (a) Brick blocking of entrance stairway.
(6) First portcullis in the entrance passage.
(c) South corridor with subsidiary graves.
(d) Superstructure of subsidiary grave.
121. Tomb No. 3500. (a) Sub-burial No. 1.
(6) Reed matting above sub-burial No. 2.
(c) Sub-burial No. 2.
122. Tomb No. 3500. (a) Reed matting and brickwork above sub-burial No. 3.
(5) Top of coffin of sub-burial No. 3.
(c) Sub-burial No. 3.
123. Tomb No. 3500. Types of pottery vessels.
124. Tomb No. 3500. Types of stone vessels and inscribed material.
125. Forms of flint implements.
PART I
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
(Plate 1)
The discovery and excavation of Tomb No. 3507 in March 1956 marks the end of a long period
of research on the tombs of the First Dynasty in the archaic necropolis at North Sakkara. The
chequered history of this work, which perhaps may be considered one of the major undertakings
of modern field work in Egyptology, is of interest as an example of the building up of archaeo¬
logical evidence from an area which for so long had been considered unworthy of serious
attention.
The first scientific excavation in the archaic necropolis was undertaken by J. E. Quibell in
1911-13, during which period two large areas were cleared. But as these areas were, except at
one point, well back from the edge of the escarpment, he only located two large tombs of the
First Dynasty: No. 2105, dated perhaps to Ka’a, and No. 2185, certainly dated to Zer. Quibell’s
attention was centred on the tombs of the Third Dynasty, particularly that of Hesy, and he
apparently did not attach much importance to his discovery of the earlier monuments, which
he did not record in much detail.* Further work on the site was suspended at the outbreak of
war in 1914 and not hing further was done until 1930 when C. M. Firth reopened the excavations.
In clearing on the escarpment edge at the north end overlooking the village of Abusir, he dis¬
covered and partly cleared Nos. 3035 and 3036, dated to the reign of Udimu, No. 3038 dated
to Enezib, and No. 3041, the date of which is uncertain. With Firth’s death in 1931, research
in the necropolis was again suspended, leaving the results of his work unpublished. In 1935 I
received instructions to re-clear Firth’s excavations with a view to their publication. In 1936 the
re-examination of No. 3035 resulted in such startling discoveries that at last the real importance
of the site was appreciated and I received permission and credits from the Department of
Antiquities to plan a long-term campaign of detailed research in the archaic necropolis. 2 Judging
from the position of the big First Dynasty tombs already discovered, it appeared probable that
others existed at intervals along the edge of the escarpment where the highest ground in the
area lay. Consequently a systematic clearance of the escarpment edge was commenced at the
north end progressing towards the south.
By the end of 1936 the re-excavation of Nos. 3035 and 3036 was completed and in 1937
No. 3038, discovered by Firth, was re-examined, revealing the stepped superstructure and
establishing its date as that of the reign of Enezib. 3 The work of 1937 also resulted in the
discovery of No. 3111 dated to Udimu, Nos. 3120 and 3121 dated to Ka’a, and No. 3338 which
can only be assigned with certainty to the end of the dynasty.
No. 3357 dated to Hor-aha was discovered in 1938, 4 as was also Tomb X, which was
unexpectedly revealed in clearing an area for building new magazines behind the expedition
1 Quibell, Archaic Mastabas, Tomb of Hesy.
3 Emery, Great Tombs of the First Dynasty , I.
2 Emery, The Tomb of Hemaka.
4 Emery, Hor-aha .
2
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
3
headquarters. Work in 1939 resulted in the discovery of No. 3471, dated to Zer, and with this
find all further research came to an end for the duration of World War II.
I returned to Sakkara at the end of 1945, but the excavations were not reopened until 1946,
when No. 3500 dated to Ka’a and No. 3503 dated to Meryt-nit were discovered. At the close
of that year my service with the Egyptian Government came to an end and once more research
in the archaic necropolis was suspended. However, in 1953 the Egypt Exploration Society
approached the Egyptian Government with a view to carrying on the exploration of this
important site; with the result that a concession was granted under an arrangement whereby
in January 1953 the Society reopened the excavations on behalf of and in co-operation with the
Department of Antiquities. Between 1953 and 1956, in four seasons’ work, we have discovered
and cleared No. 3504 dated to Uadji, 1 No. 3505 dated to Ka’a, and Nos. 3506 and 3507 dated to
Udimu; completing the first objective of the Society’s plan of research at North Sakkara.
Although the major part of the site still awaits excavation, test digging has shown with
comparative certainty that only the edge of the escarpment was devoted to the monuments
of the First Dynasty and that the areas west of this line are covered with tombs of the Second
and Third Dynasties. Furthermore, as pointed out in Chapter I, Tomb 3507 appears to mark
the southernmost limit of the big tombs of the First Dynasty and no traces of any large struc¬
tures of the period have been noted south of this point. It is, of course, possible that they did
continue southward and were completely destroyed by the Teti Pyramid cemetery and the
Greek Serapeum; but even so, one would expect to find fragmentary remains of First Dynasty
brickwork, pottery, and stone vessels. As far as can be ascertained from surface examination,
no such remains exist. In this connexion it is a curious fact that the archaic necropolis is the
only part of Sakkara which has not been re-used as a burial ground for later periods. This
unusual feature was noted by Quibell during his excavations in 1913 and our own work over
much wider areas has confirmed his observations. In the introduction to his report Quibell
wrote: ‘It may be that the early mastabas, being on the highest land near, never got covered
with sand and took long ages to wear away to their present invisibility, so were generally recog¬
nized and respected, while, in the part further south, the Old Kingdom tombs, being at a low
level, were quickly sanded up and forgotten, then covered by the tombs of the first intermediate
period and so on at intervals till the Roman interments closed the series.’
This apparently reasonable explanation does not hold good when we consider certain facts
revealed by the more detailed excavations of recent times. First, there is evidence to show that
these great mud-brick structures of the archaic period did not survive for any long period and
even on the high ground they soon became sanded up. How quickly this occurred is shown by
small tombs of the Third Dynasty being built on top of the already ruined superstructures of
the First Dynasty when these had by that time already been reduced from a height of approxi¬
mately 6-0 to 1-80 metres above the original ground level.
As an alternative to Quibell’s solution, it has been suggested that the knowledge that North
Sakkara was the burial place of Egypt’s earliest royalty survived into later times, and in con¬
sequence the site was preserved from intrusions as a sacred area. But here again this explanation
does not fit in with the facts revealed by the excavations. The facts are these: after the whole
eastern edge of the site had been occupied with the big First Dynasty tombs, their subsidiary
graves, boat burials, and gardens, the area behind them was soon built up with tombs of the
nobility of the Second Dynasty and farther back with those of the Third Dynasty. As stated
above, by this time the First Dynasty structures were in ruins and the spaces between them
became congested with small Third Dynasty tombs belonging to the lesser nobility and middle
class. So we see that until the end of the Third *Dynasty events followed their usual course: the
ruined burial structures of earlier periods being encroached upon to make way for the burials of
later generations. But in the archaic cemetery this course of events stopped at the end of the
Third Dynasty and with the exception of occasional isolated poor burials of Ptolemaic-Roman
date, the whole area remained inviolate except for the occasional activities of tomb robbers and
quarrymen. It would appear that at a date just prior to the Pyramid age some reason, not yet
known to us, caused the area of the archaic necropolis to be considered sacrosanct. Whatever
this reason was, it remained sufficiently important throughout the rest of pharaonic history to
preserve this part of Sakkara from further use as a burial ground.
On the question of the royal character of the First Dynasty tombs in the archaic necropolis,
I think there can be little doubt. There is no reason to recapitulate the arguments for and against
these being the tombs of Egypt’s first kings, for most of the evidence has been marshalled in
the introduction to the previous report on the excavations of 1952. 1 All the evidence gained from
the excavations made since it was published gives further strong support to the theory that the
tombs of the kings are at Sakkara and the monuments of Abydos are their * Southern’ tombs or
cenotaphs. The great size of No. 3505, with its funerary temple, and the identification of No. 3507
as belonging to Queen Her-nit are of considerable significance, but the contents of the burial
chamber of No. 3506 are of even more importance and in this connexion I would refer my
readers again to the introduction of our previous report, wherein I wrote:
It is true that we have allocated great tombs at Sakkara, dated to Udimu and Enezib, to nobles, such as
No. 3035 to Hemaka, No. 3036 to Ankhka, and No. 3038 to Nebitka; but our knowledge of the language of
this early period is, as yet, so elementary that we still remain uncertain as to the meaning and distinction
between a name and a title. Assuming that such groups as Hemaka, Ankhka, Nebitka and Sekhemka are
indeed the names of viziers and high officials of the Court, jar sealings and other objects bearing their names,
found in the tombs, do not necessarily mean that the monument is their burial place. In the tomb of a king
or his consort it would not be strange to find objects bearing the seal or name of his seal-bearer. Taking
Hemaka as an example—because of the frequent appearance of his name on jar sealings, etc.—we came to
the conclusion, perhaps too hastily, that No. 3035 belonged to him. But on this evidence we might with equal
reason believe that Tomb T at Abydos was also his burial place; for the same jar sealings, in conjunction
with the name of the king, Udimu, were found in it, as in No. 3035 at Sakkara. It is therefore possible that
both Abydos T and Sakkara 3035 are actually monuments of King Udimu; and the fact that the name of
his senior official appears with equal frequency amid the wreckage of both structures is what we might expect,
particularly if the servant survived his master.
This question has been definitely answered hy the discovery on the floor level of the burial
chamber of No. 3506 of jar sealings of Hemaka, Ankhka, Medjedka, and Mesenka. There can
be little doubt that the names of these officials appear on the jar sealings in their official capacity
and certainly not as an indication of ownership of the object, much less of the tomb in which
they are found.
Unlike the Abydos monuments, the position of the tombs gives no indication of the sequence
of their building or of their date, for this was undoubtedly governed by the character of the site
i Emery, Great Tombs of the First Dynasty, II.
1 Emery, Great Tombs of the First Dynasty, II.
4
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
on which they were built. The top surface over the whole area of North Sakkara consists of a
hard gravel varying in depth from 0-75 to 4-00 metres from the original ground level. The
question of the depth of this gravel stratum was undoubtedly an important factor in the
selection of the site of the earliest structures; for at that time deep cutting into hard rock in
the construction of the substructure was to be avoided. With the advance in technical skill and
the development of architectural design, the hard rock ceased to be a deterrent to the builder
but became, on the contrary, an important factor in the design and construction of the sub¬
structure. But the primary motive in the choice of a site was its prominence on the edge of the
escarpment, and we thus find that No. 3357 dated to Hor-aha occupied the highest ground in
the area. Similarly, Nos. 3471 and 3504 are constructed on sites of almost equal prominence.
In consequence of the prominence and geological value of the ground determining the position
of the tombs, we find their location of no value as evidence of date and we are entirely dependent
for this on the style of architectural design, the objects, and inscribed material. Fortunately,
evidence of this character was found in abundance and each great monument can be dated to
a reign with certainty. But the identification of ownership is much more difficult, particularly
with regard to King Udimu, for three of the largest and most elaborate funerary installations
(Nos. 3035, 3036, and 3506) are to be dated to his reign, and there is no concrete evidence as
to which of these was actually his tomb. Judging by the size of the monuments, their positions,
and the objects found in them, I venture tentatively to suggest the following:
No. 3357. Hor-aha.
No. 3471. Zer.
No. 3504. Uadji.
No. 3035. Udimu.
No. 3038. Enezib.
No. 3505. Ka’a.
No. 3503. Queen Meryet-nit.
No. 3507. Queen Her-nit.
The other large tombs perhaps also belong to the royal consorts. In all these exhaustive excava¬
tions no structure dated to the reigns of either Narmer or Semerkhet has been discovered, and
there can be little doubt that none existed. Indeed no objects of any sort attributable to these
kings have been found at North Sakkara, with the exception of a single fragment of pottery
inscribed with the name of Semerkhet. This was found by Firth during his excavations in
No. 3035 and was apparently a surface find. 1 The absence of all trace of Narmer is perhaps
because the consolidation of his conquests did not extend as far north as the apex of the Delta,
and Memphis was yet to be founded. Much material of his reign was found at Tarkhan, and his
northern tomb is perhaps to be found in this area, if it has not already been excavated but
unidentified.
The lack of any monument of Semerkhet is much more puzzling, but there is evidence which
suggests that this king may have been a usurper. It is significant that the name of Enezib
inscribed on stone vessels has frequently been erased by Semerkhet, who in his turn has had
his name omitted from the Sakkara king list. This suggests a dynastic struggle which perhaps
explains the absence of a monument of Semerkhet in the royal necropolis of the north.
PART II
TOMB NO. 3505
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This tomb is dated to the reign of Ka’a, the last king of the First Dynasty, and is in all proba¬
bility his actual sepulchre. The tomb is situated 51 metres south of No. 3504, approximately
20 metres west of the edge of the escarpment (Plate 1). Its position behind the general line of
the great tombs of the First Dynasty is significant, for it suggests that at the time it was built
all available sites directly overhanging the valley had been filled, and its close proximity to
No. 3506, dated to the reign of Udimu, suggests that the area at the close of the dynasty was
already becoming congested. That this should be so is curious, for we would expect that the
lines of First Dynasty tombs would continue along the cliff edge southward. However, beyond
the north boundary of the Teti Pyramid cemetery and the site of the Greek Serapeum no trace
of archaic tombs has been discovered and although we must consider, in view of the presence of
so many remains of later periods, that all trace of them has been obliterated, for some reason
the extreme southern limits of the royal cemetery of the First Dynasty end on the site of Tomb
3506 about 120 metres north of the Teti Pyramid cemetery.
The tomb has been plundered time and again throughout its history of 5,000 years and like
other great monuments of the period it had been ravaged by fire. Very few objects remained
and consequently identification of ownership was difficult. This problem was further compli¬
cated by the presence within its precincts of a large subsidiary tomb belonging to a high official
named Merka, whose tomb furniture had become mixed with that of the owner of the main
structure. However, the size of the tomb with its funerary temple and the presence of jar sealings
bearing the name of Ka’a, taken in conjunction with the close resemblance of the substructure
with the southern tomb of that king at Abydos, convinces me that 3505 belongs to him and is
probably his actual burial place.
1 Emery, The Tomb of Hemaka, p. 54, fig. 17.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
7
CHAPTER II
ARCHITECTURE
General Description
(Plates 2, 3, and 4)
The overall structure of 3505 is the largest in the necropolis at North Sakkara, and amongst
First Dynasty buildings it is unique in its advance in design towards the general conception of
the pyramid complex of later times (Plate 9).
The tomb consists of a rectangular superstructure of brick with massive walls retaining a
filling of packed rubble which covered the whole area of the interior. The outside of the super¬
structure has the usual fagade of elaborate recessed panelling, but this existed only on the north¬
east and south sides; the west fagade having a simplified panelling similar to that employed in
the enclosure wall of the Third Dynasty pyramid enclosure of Zoser. All the panelling has been
faced with a gypsum stucco as a background to elaborate frescoes of geometrical patterns of the
same design as those so familiar to us from the tomb of Hesy. The colourwork in red, white,
black, blue-green, and yellow is remarkably well preserved, and as in Tomb No. 3121, also dated
to the reign of Ka’a, we can only conclude that this has happened because the fagade and
corridors of tombs of this later period were roofed and thus had been protected before the final
collapse of the structure exposed them to wind and rain erosion. Surrounding the panelled
fagade of the superstructure is a low bench on which were the usual bulls’ heads modelled in
sun-dried mud with real horns; only a few of these were preserved, but sufficient remained to
show that their arrangement conformed to the system of design and was similar to that found
in the tomb of Uadji (No. 3504).
Below the pavement of the east corridor a ramp descends from north to south and then
turning at right angles to the west leads down to the rock-cut burial chamber and two magazines
situated under the central part of the superstructure. Entrance to the magazines was effected
through small doorways built at a high level on each side of the entrance passage. The passage
ends with a large stone portcullis which had been lowered after the burial down a grooved cavity
cut in the side walls of the doorway of the burial chamber. The whole of the substructure, which
was originally an open-work excavation, had been roofed with timber.
On the north side of the superstructure of the tomb was a funerary temple consisting of a
maze of rooms and passages; both this structure and the panelled mastaba are enclosed in the
main walls of the building, thus forming a vast unit measuring 59 by 33 metres with an entrance
doorway at the north end of the east side. Surrounding the whole of this building was a high
enclosure wall with a gateway entrance opposite the doorway into its interior. A unique feature
was a large subsidiary tomb built in the floor of the east corridor partly below the second niche
of the superstructure.
Details and Measurements
The Enclosure Wall and Corridor (Plates 10 and 11)
The enclosure wall surrounds the whole structure on all four sides with a corridor between it
and the building. It was found standing to a maximum height of 1-60 metres and both faces had
a batter of 3 on 1. On both sides the wall has been faced with a thick mud plaster covered with
white gypsum plaster. The single entrance gateway is situated directly in front of the door of
the building, at the north end of the east wall. The corridor formed between the enclosure wall
and the building has a thick pavement of stamped mud on which has been laid a heavy coating
of white gypsum plaster. The removal of parts 6f this paving revealed a series of small circular
holes extending in a single line along the full length of the east corridor from the entrance gate¬
way to the turn at the south-east corner. The average size of these holes is 16 cm. diameter and
20 cm. deep, and in some traces of decayed wood was found; probably the remains of posts
spaced about 1-75 metres apart. No traces of similar holes were found in the north, south, and
west corridors. The significance of this feature will be discussed below.
Measurements: Total length north-south 65-20 metres
east-west
40-00
Thickness at base
2-10
Width of corridor: north side
1-10
south „
0-90
east „
1-00
west ,,
0-90
The Outer Walls (Plates 10 and 11)
The outer walls of the combined structure of tomb and temple are uniform in design with a
batter of 4 on 1 on the outer face and vertical sides in the interior. Found standing to a maxi¬
mum height of 1-90 metres there is no evidence of their original height, but their immense
thickness suggests that this would probably exceed 5 metres. Even with the considerable batter
of the outer face this estimate would leave a top surface of more than 1-50 metres at the top,
which would be adequate to support the roofing beams which must have covered the whole
structure. After the walls had been completed and faced with mud plaster, the builders had
strengthened it with a skin wall 20 cm. thick, rising from the base to a height of 1-20 metres.
The whole exterior of the structure has been covered with a thick white gypsum plaster.
The jambs and entrance doorway, situated at the north end of the east fagade, have an outer
reveal wider than the inner reveal; 1-50 and 1-10 metres respectively.
Measurements: Total length north-south 58-45 metres
east-west 33-60 „
Thickness at base 3-00 „
The Superstructure of the Tomb (Plates 12 to 16)
The tomb is separated from the funerary temple by a massive wall extending from east to
west across the whole structure. Access to the tomb area from the temple is gained through a
door in the north-east corner which leads directly into the corridor which surrounds the super¬
structure. The rectangular superstructure consists of massive brick walls retaining a filling of
packed rubble which covered the whole area of the interior.
Exterior measurements of main walls: north
south
east
west
24-00 metres
24-30 „
35-20 „
35-00 „
8
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Thickness of the main walls:
north
5-80 metres
south
515 „
east
6-00 „
west
5-75 „
Maximum height of walls as found:
2-00 „
The brickwork is laid in the usual tile fashion in alternate layers of headers and stretchers with
reed matting between every sixth course. Built against the inner sides are ‘ skin ’ walls of bonded
bricks in alternate layers of headers and stretchers.
The outside of the superstructure has the usual recessed panelling known as the ‘palace
fagade ’, but this only exists on the north, south, and east sides; the west side has a simplified
panelling of alternate plain pilasters and recesses, evenly spaced. At the foot of the panelled
fagade, on all four sides, is a low bench, 0-30 metre high and 0-55 metre wide, on which were
originally hundreds of bulls’ heads, modelled in clay with real horns (Plate 13 a). The measure¬
ments of the recessed panelling vary because of the unusual proportions of the superstructure.
On the north, south, and east side:
Large niche: width from 1-70 to 1-93 metres
depth from 0-75 to 0-83 „
Small niche: width from 0-35 to 0-39 „
depth from 0-25 to 0-28 ,,
On the west facade: pilaster: width 0-64 metres
recess: width 0-35 „
depth 0*12 „
All the palace facade and the plain panelling has been faced with a thick mud plaster which
continues below the bull-head bench, which was, as in other structures, added after this finishing
process had been completed. On the top of the mud facing was a white gypsum stucco covering
both fagade and bench. This served as a background to elaborate frescoes of matwork design
similar to those found in the tomb of Hesy. Executed in red, white, black, blue, and yellow,
this painted decoration was well preserved and even the guiding lines of the craftsman were still
visible. Plates 6, 7, and 8 show details and the order of this painted decoration, which, it will be
noted, differs considerably in execution on the east and west fagades. This shows not only a
different conception of the same design but a different technique in presenting it. There can be
no question of different periods, for the quality of paint and its application are identical—only
the detail design differs and it is obvious that two different groups of artists were at work—at
the same time on the same structure. This is perhaps some indication of the hurry which at¬
tended the erection of these structures which, vast as they were, were certainly generally finished
and embellished after the event of the actual burial.
The Substructure of the Tomb (Plates 18 to 22)
The Entrance Passage. The passage starts its descent under the east corridor, running from
north to south and turning at right angles to the west. The north-south part of this construction
consists of a ramp ending in two shallow steps before it turns and leads direct to the gate of the
burial chamber. It is important to note that the ramp below the corridor is partly overbuilt by
the bull-head bench, while at the turn the passage was roofed with timber to support the mass
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
9
of the superstructure above it. It is thus obvious that the bench was built after the burial had
been installed and the entrance ramp filled in; and it is equally obvious that the superstructure
had been built before the entrance was closed. While the floor of the east-west passage has a
gradual slope, it is also deepened by a series of widely spaced steps. Rock-cut shelves on each
side supported wooden roofing of cross beams afid heavy planking, traces of which were found
in position.
Length: north-south 7-65 metres
Maximum width 1*25 „
Minimum width 1-00 „
Maximum depth L80 „
Minimum depth 0-20 „
Length: east-west 9-85 „
Magazine A. A door, high up in the north wall of the entrance passage, gives access to maga¬
zine A, which consists of a rectangular rock-cut pit lined with thick walls of brick on which
rested a roof of planks. The brick walls were faced with mud plaster.
Measurements: North to south 2-65 metres
East to west 2-30 „
Depth from roof 2-00 „
Magazine B. A second door, also high up, in the south side of the entrance passage, leads to
magazine B. Like magazine A, it consists of a rock-cut pit lined with brick walls supporting a
wooden roof. The only difference in construction is that the north side of the pit was open to
the entrance passage.
Measurements: North to south 3-50 metres
East to west 1-25 „
Depth from roof 1-30 „
Doorway to the Burial Chamber. At the foot of the entrance passage a door with rock-cut jambs
has a heavy wooden lintel. Behind it are the grooves which originally supported the stone port¬
cullis which, lowered through the superstructure, blocked the entrance to the burial chamber.
The portcullis of hard limestone had been smashed into fragments by tomb robbers, but suffi¬
cient remained to see that in general design it was similar to those in Tomb 3500.
Approximate measurements: Height 3-00 metres
Width 1-40 „
Thickness 0-25 ,,
The Burial Chamber. A steep step beyond the portcullis descends into the burial chamber,
which consists of a big rectangular pit measuring from north to south 5-00 metres and from
east to west 8*70 metres with a maximum depth from ground level of 5-75 metres (Plate 19).
On all four sides of the pit wide shelves were cut at a point 3-10 metres above floor level, and
on the north side a small rock-cut stairway led down to the shelf from ground level. Although
these shelves supported the wooden roof, traces of which were found in position, they un¬
doubtedly had another purpose, and this question is discussed in Chapter VI. Two rock-cut
emplacements were cut in the east and west shelves to receive wooden beams which measured
approximately 0-60 metre square. For so wide a span across the full length of the pit, pillar
supports must have existed, but no traces of these were found. The roofing planks which rested
c
10
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
on these beams were also of great size and the remains of two found in position showed them
to he about 0-30 metre thick and 0-90 metre wide. A puzzling feature was the series of small
lateral holes cut in the walls just above the floor of the shelves. Spaced evenly at intervals of
1'10 metres, some of them still contained the butts of wooden poles of approximately O'10 metre
diameter. These lateral sockets were cut to an average depth of 0-20 metre (see Plates 20 and 21).
After the erection of the wooden roof, stone retaining walls were built on the shelves prior to
the placing of an overall filling of stone and rubble. There was no evidence of interior brick walls
in the pit, but they may well have existed and have been completely destroyed by the fire.
The Funerary Temple (Plates 24 and 25)
The temple, situated on the north side and enclosed in the general outer structure of the tomb,
covers an area of approximately 600 square metres. Irregular in plan, it would appear probable
that the sanctuary was situated in room 7 which was the only area with a stone floor (Plate 25 a).
All other parts of the building had a mud-packed flooring covered with a thick layer of white
gypsum plaster. Further support in the belief that this was the sanctuary area was the discovery
of the remains of two wooden statues in position in the recess marked X on the plan (Plate 27).
In the large room marked 10 the walls were originally covered with reed matting which was
fixed with a backing of mud plaster (Plate 25 b). At a period subsequent to the covering of the
walls with matting, the floor level had been raised about 25 cm. with packed mud very unevenly
distributed; the original floor, like the rest of the temple, was covered with a thick layer of white
gyps um plaster. The walls of rooms 7 and 8 were originally painted yellow with a black dado
16 cm. in depth. A few splashes of red paint suggest that the upper part of the walls was
decorated with colour. With these exceptions the walls of all other rooms and passages were
faced with white plaster.
The Subsidiary Grave (Plates 22 and 23)
Situated below the second large niche and the corridor at the south end of the east fa§ade,
this lajfge pit grave is undoubtedly contemporary with the main structure. All the evidence
suggests that it belonged to the nobleman Merka whose stela was found adjacent to it (see
p. 11). The grave, measuring 2-73 by 1-75 metres, was cut to a depth of 1-83 metres. The part
below the brick superstructure was roofed with timber and that below the corridor with stone
(Plate 5). The position of the stela is uncertain and while it is possible that it may have been
inserted in the niche of the superstructure which is directly above the grave, it would appear
from its size, which is much less in height than the niche, to have occupied some other position.
CHAPTER III
THE DISCOVERY
9
Excavations were commenced on 12 January 1954 in an area of broken ground approxi¬
mately 30 metres south of Tomb 3504. A fairly deep hollow in the middle of the area showed
that the ground had been turned over about 100 years ago and fragments of mud brick partly
burnt showed us from the very start of the work that a tomb of the First Dynasty lay beneath.
As the work progressed, more evidence in the form of ropes and a wooden pulley block showed
that we had been forestalled, perhaps by Mariette. However, our predecessors had only pene¬
trated the burial chamber and certainly abandoned their work before they reached its floor level.
This tomb is the only one of the First Dynasty group in the archaic cemetery that showed any
signs of comparatively modern excavation. By 15 January part of the west fa 9 ade had been
disclosed and within a few days test pits gave us the total dimensions of what was the largest
of all the First Dynasty tombs. It was at this stage that the fragment of a stone vessel inscribed
with the name of the unknown King Senefeska (Cat. No. 1. See ‘Inscriptions’, p. 54) was found
in the redeem and it became obvious that we were dealing with a structure of the late First or
early Second Dynasties. Painted decoration on the unusual west fa 9 ade suggested an even later
date for the tomb and it was only with the discovery of pottery of type A 2 and jar sealings
of King Ka’a that a certain date was established, after the excavations had progressed for two
weeks. Thenceforward the clearance of the monument progressed until its complete excavation
by 19 March.
The tomb area of this great funerary structure had been largely destroyed by fire. A very
large percentage of the great tombs of the First Dynasty at Sakkara, Abydos, and Nagadehhave
been burnt, presumably by plunderers in an effort to obliterate the evidence of their sacrilege.
But this feature is not apparent in tombs of the Second Dynasty even though the burials have
been rifled in the same way, and it would appear that the burning of the tombs of the kings
and nobility was confined to the First Dynasty. In the present case, the fire not only burnt out
the burial chamber but it destroyed large areas of the superstructure to such an extent that
the brickwork of walls 5 metres thick was burnt red throughout. Such a fire must have smoul¬
dered for weeks, and we may not be in error in considering that it was done deliberately with
official sanction.
The Superstructure
The clearance of the corridors surrounding the panelled superstructure yielded little of impor¬
tance beyond the stela of Merka which was found in the east corridor 3 metres north of the
subsidiary burial, from which it had obviously been taken (Plate 23). It was lying face upwards,
resting on two stones and had probably been abandoned by ancient workmen employed in the
removal of stonework from the tomb. There is evidence throughout the whole of the archaic
cemetery of the systematic plundering of stone from the early monuments at a date subsequent
to the Ptolemaic period. The redeem in the corridors consisted of broken masses of brickwork
and rubble within which were innumerable broken pottery vessels; but only a few identifiable
specimens were found on ground level. These were: 1 of A 2, 2 of A 8, 1 of E 1 in the west
12
GREAT TOMBS OE THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
13
corridor; 2 of A 2, 2 of A 8, 2 of A 12, 1 of B 4, 3 of B 5, 4 of B 6, 1 of D 12, 1 of E 1, 1 of E 4,
1 of J 11, 2 of K 16, 2 of K 22, 2 of M 5 from the north corridor; 1 of B 3, 2 of B 4, 1 of B 6,
2 of B 8, 3 of C 4, 1 of D 3, 1 of E 1, 1 of E 2, 2 of K 3, 3 of K 12, 2 of K 20, 2 of K 21, 4 of
K 23, 1 of L 10, 1 of M 7, 1 of P 1, 1 of R 1, from the east corridor.
The Substructure
In the debris which filled the upper levels of the burial chamber, considerable quantities of
broken pottery vessels were recovered. These deposits must have formed part of the contents
of the filling above the burial chamber, for in the corners of the pit which were undisturbed by
our predecessors they were found above a stratum of charred wood from the roofing beams.
Analysis showed the following quantities and types: 125 of A 2, 6 of A 10, 6 of A 11, 1 of C 4,
3 of C 7, 1 of D 3, 1 of D 1, 1 of D 7, 5 of D 8, 2 of D 12, 2 of E 1, 6 of E 8, 14 of F 5, 1 of
G 11, 1 of G 12, and 1 of L 14.
Although the burial chamber had been completely ransacked and its remaining contents
largely destroyed by fire, traces of a large wooden sarcophagus were preserved in the centre
of the room (Plate 26). Its exact dimensions were unascertainable, but its floor area cannot
have been less than 2-60 by 3-00 metres. Mixed with the charred wood were fragments of copper
inlay and nails (Cat. Nos. 44, 45) which probably belonged to it. Considerable quantities of flint
implements were recovered from the lower levels consisting of 1 of type 1, 1 of type 3, 7 of
type 4, 4 of type 5, 2 of type 7, and 3 of type 9.
Examples of clay jar sealings Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 were also found in the burial chamber.
A large quantity of broken stone vessels was recovered, of which the following identifications
are certain: 2 of A 1, 45 of A 2, 4 of A3, 130 of A 4, 2 of A 5, 1 of A 6, 19 of A 8, 2 of A 9, 68
of A 10, 6 of A 11, 4 of A 13, 2 of A 2, 2 of A 15, 6 of A 16, 1 of A 17, 3 of A 24, 1 of A 29,
1 of A 32, 2 of A 33, 23 of B 2, 1 of B 4, 13 of B 5, 1 of C 1, 192 of C 4, 57 of C 5, 10 of C 6,
16 of C 7, 2 of C 8, 2 of G 2, 2 of G 6, 5 of G 9, 1 of G 10, 1 of G 12, 1 of G 17, 1 of H 1, 1 of
II, 1 of I 2, 1 of 112, 4 of K3, 7 of K4, 20 ofK8, 1 of Q 5, 151 ofSl, 18 ofS2, 104 of S 4,
6 of S 5,11 of S 6,1 of S 7,1 of S 8,10 of S 9, 25ofS 10, 3 of S 12, 1 of S 13, 1 of S 16, 3 of S 18,
69 of S 19, 9 of S 20, 38 of T 2, 4 of T 5, 4 of T 6, 3 of T 8, 9 of T 10, 2 of T 11, 11 of T 12,
2 of T 14, 1 of T 15, 6 of T 17, 5 of T 18, 3 of T 19, 9 of T 20, 5 of T 21, and 1 of T 22.
Of pottery vessels the following quantities and types were ascertainable: 1 of A 1, 37 of A 2,
2 of A 8, 1 of A 10, 3 of A 11, 3 of B 2, 4 of C 1, 1 of C 6, 1 of C 7, 3 of D 6, 2 of D 7, 1 of E 4,
4 of E 8, 1 of E 9, 2 of F 4, 6 of G 6, 3 of G 9, 6 of G 12, 1 of K 14, 2 of K 18, 1 of L 9, and
1 of Q 4.
The entrance passage was less disturbed than the burial chamber, for it had not been touched
by our more recent predecessors. Below the powdered fragments of the wooden roofing were
masses of broken pottery and stone vessels, jar sealings, and the scattered bones of four adults,
one of which was a young strongly built male and another an old person, probably male. All
this material must have been dragged from the burial chamber and the magazines which flank
the passage; the human remains are undoubtedly contemporary with the original burial instal¬
lation, for they were found below the strata of burnt roofing beams.
Of the stone vessels the following have been identified: 1 of A 2, 1 of A 4, 2 of A 10, 6 of
C 4, 1 of S 1, 1 of T 12, and 1 of Z 2; of pottery: 2 of A 2, 2 of A 11, 2 of B 1, 5 of B 2, 4 of
B 4, 1 of B 5, 1 of B 7, 4 of B 8, 1 of D 3, 29 of D 8, 3 of E 8, 2 of E 5, 4 of G 1, 2 of H 2, 7
of J9, 2 ofKll, 2ofK18, 1 of K 23, 8 of K 24, 4 of K 26, 1 of K 28, 2 of R 1, and 3 of S 1.
Jar sealings Nos. 5, 8, 9, 15, 16, and 17 were found in the lowest level of the redeem in the
stairway.
The confusion in the burial chamber and entrance passage was repeated in magazine A, but
it had not been disturbed after the first plundering when the tomb was fired (Plate 27 a). A
confused mass of broken stone and pottery vessels lay beneath a stratum of redeem containing
charred wood from the roofing beams. The stone vessels identified are as follows: 1 of S 2,
1 of S 6, and 1 of S 9; and of pottery, 4 of A 2, 2 of A 4, 1 of A 11, 16 of B 4, 3 of B 5, 2 of
C 6, 3 of D 7, 1 of J 1, 1 of J 18, 1 of J 19, 1 of K 11, and 2 of K 25.
Magazine B, which appears to have been cleared from above by our more immediate pre¬
decessors, contained only two identifiable alabaster stone vessels of types A 10 and B 2 with
a small clay sealing No. 4.
The Subsidiary Grave
The stone-lined subsidiary grave in the east corridor was found completely ransacked, con¬
taining only the scattered bones of an elderly male adult and the fragments of an alabaster
vessel of type T 12, and a dolomite vessel of type Z 2. A few fragments of pottery were also
recovered, but they could not be identified. The wooden roofing at the west end of the grave
had given way and only the socketed stumps of the timbers remained in position. Consequently
the whole of the niche which they supported had fallen into the grave and no evidence remained
to confirm whether or not the stone stela of Merka was inset in its door. There can be no doubt
that the stela belonged to this tomb; this is confirmed by the identical character and working
of the stone with that embodied in the grave structure. But its position must remain uncertain.
The Funerary Temple
The structure of the funerary temple was to a large extent reduced to its foundations. Never¬
theless, a certain amount of material, all resting on floor level, was recovered from some of the
rooms. Of these discoveries, the most important were the remains of two wooden statues found
in situ in room 7 (Plate 27). Originally standing figures with the left leg advanced, they must
have been approximately two-thirds life size. Unfortunately only the lower part of the legs,
feet, and rectangular pedestal base remain. Hitherto such statues have not been found earlier
than the Third Dynasty, but there can be no question that they are contemporary with the
building in which they were housed. Standing side by side, the bases are embedded in the
original mud-packed pavement with its covering of white gypsum plaster.
The remains of the following stone vessels were found in the funerary temple: 1 of C 4, 1
of C 6, and 1 of A 10; and of pottery 1 of B 2, 1 of B 4, 3 of B 5, 1 of C 1, 1 of F 1, 1 of F 2,
1 of G 11, 1 of K 11, 2 of K 12, 1 of K 23, 1 ofK29, 3ofL4, 1 of L 7, 1 of L 10, and 2 of El.
CHAPTER IV
THE CONTENTS OF THE TOMB
Miscellaneous Objects
12. Fragment of ivory furniture carved in spiral fashion. Size 4-6 cm. long. From the debris
above the burial chamber.
44. Fragments of copper inlay and fittings, probably from the wooden coffin in the centre of
the burial chamber.
45. Twenty-four copper nails, about 1*5 cm. long, also found with the remains of the wooden
coffin.
46. Fragments of an alabaster gaming-board consisting of the top engraved with three rows
of squares. Size 8-0 cm. long and 1-5 cm. thick. From the debris of the burial chamber.
54. Twelve fragments of an alabaster table top with straight sides and one rounded edge. At
one corner is a socket hole for a detachable leg. Size unascertainable. Found in the debris
above the burial chamber and in the filling of the north corridor.
55. Four fragments of an alabaster table top, with a polished yellow surface. A hole for one
of the detachable legs is preserved. From the debris of the burial chamber.
72. Nine fragments of a flat rectangular pottery slab, measuring 40-5 by 54-0 cm. and 2-5 cm.
thick. Both sides are painted red with small black dots. Possibly a table top. From the en¬
trance stairway.
Flint Implements
Type 1. Bifacial knife with backward-curving cutting edge and cut-out handle.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem above the burial chamber; 1 from the west corridor.
Type 3. Unifacial triangular scraper with sharp top.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type 4. Unifacial triangular scraper with sharp top.
Total number: 48.
Provenance: 35 from the redeem above the burial chamber; 7 from the floor of the
burial chamber; 2 from the funerary temple; 4 from the entrance stairway.
Type 5. Unifacial triangular scraper with rounded top.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: 3 from the redeem above the burial chamber; 4 from the floor of the
burial chamber. /
Type 6. Unifacial triangular scraper with rounded top.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the redeem above the burial chamber.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
15
Type 7. Unifacial blade with pointed tip.
Total number: 13.
Provenance: 9 from the redeem above the burial chamber; 2 from the floor of the
burial chamber; 1 from the entrance stairway; 1 from the east corridor.
Type 9. Unifacial rectangular scraper with rounded edges.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: 3 from the redeem above the burial chamber; 1 from the north corridor;
1 from the entrance stairway.
Type 10. Unifacial sickle-blades with serrated cutting edge.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the east corridor.
Pottery
(Plates 29 to 32)
Type A 1. Tall jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from burial chamber.
Type A 2. Tall jar.
Total number: 173.
Provenance: 125 from upper level of burial chamber; 37 from floor of burial chamber;
1 from west corridor; 2 from north corridor; 4 from magazine A; 2 from stairway
entrance; 2 from outer east corridor.
Type A 4. Tall jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from magazine A.
Type A 8. Tall jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 2 from floor of burial chamber; 2 from west corridor.
Type A 10. Tall jar.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: 6 from upper level of burial chamber; 1 from floor of burial chamber.
Type All. Tall jar.
Total number: 12.
Provenance: 6 from upper level of burial chamber; 3 from floor of burial chamber;
1 from magazine A; 2 from stairway entrance.
Type A 12. Tall jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from north corridor.
Type B 1. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from entrance stairway.
16 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type B 2. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: 1 from funerary temple; 5 from entrance stairway; 2 from east outer
corridor; 3 from floor of burial chamber.
Type B 3. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 1 from magazine A; 1 from east corridor; 1 from east outer corridor.
Type B 4. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 24.
Provenance: 1 from north corridor; 6 from magazine A; 1 from funerary temple;
2 from east corridor; 4 from entrance stairway.
Type B 5. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 17
Provenance: 3 from north corridor; 5 from magazine A; 3 from funerary temple;
1 from entrance stairway; 5 from east outer corridor.
Type B 6. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: 5 from north corridor; 1 from east corridor.
Type B 7. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from entrance stairway.
Type B 8. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 8.
Provenance: 2 from east corridor; 4 from entrance stairway; 2 from east outer
corridor.
Type B 9. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: all from the east outer corridor.
Type C 1. Jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: 4 from floor of burial chamber; 1 from the funerary temple.
Type C 4. Jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: 1 from redeem above burial chamber; 1 from floor of burial chamber;
3 from east corridor.
Type C 6. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 1 from floor of burial chamber; 2 from magazine A.
Type C 7. Jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 3 from redeem above burial chamber; 1 from floor of burial chamber.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY 17
Type C 9. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: all from floor of burial chamber.
Type D 3. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: .1 from redeem above burial chamber; 1 from east corridor; 1 from
entrance stairway.
Type D 5. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from redeem above the burial chamber.
Type D 6. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: all from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type D 7. Jar.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: 1 from redeem above the burial chamber; 1 from the floor of the burial
chamber; 3 from magazine A.
Type D 8. Jar.
Total number: 35.
Provenance: 5 from redeem above burial chamber; 29 from the entrance stairway;
1 from the east corridor.
Type D 12. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 2 from redeem above the burial chamber; 1 from the north corridor.
Type El. Jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: 2 from redeem above the burial chamber; 1 from the west corridor; 1
from the north corridor; 1 from the east corridor.
Type E 2. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from east corridor.
Type E 4. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from floor of burial chamber.
Type E 8. Jar.
Total number: 14.
Provenance: 6 from redeem above burial chamber; 4 from floor of burial chamber;
3 from entrance stairway; 1 from east outer corridor.
Type E 9. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from floor of burial chamber.
18 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type F 2. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from funerary temple.
Type F 4. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 1 from the north corridor; 2 from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type F 5. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 17.
Provenance: 14 from redeem above burial chamber; 3 from entrance stairway.
Type G 1. Flagon.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: all from the entrance stairway.
Type G 6. Flagon.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 11. Flagon.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem above the burial chamber; 1 from the funerary temple.
Type G 12. Flagon.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem above the burial chamber; 6 from the floor of the
burial chamber.
Type H 2. Bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 1 from outer east corridor; 2 from the entrance stairway.
Type J 1. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from magazine A.
Type J 9. Bowl.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: all from the entrance stairway.
Type J 18. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from magazine A.
Type J 19. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from magazine A.
Type J 22. Bowl.
Total number: 8.
Provenance: 2 from east outer corridor; 6 from the entrance stairway.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY 19
Type K 3. Dish.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from the east corridor.
Type K 10. Dish.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 1 from magazine A; 1 from the funerary temple; 1 from the entrance
stairway.
Type L 4. Dish.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 1 from redeem above the burial chamber; 3 from the funerary temple.
Type L 6. Dish.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from the east outer corridor.
Type L 7. Dish.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the funerary temple.
Type M 5. Jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from the north corridor.
Type M 7. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the east corridor.
Type 0 2. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the east corridor.
Type P 1. Spouted bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the east corridor.
Type Q 3. Rough ware jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: all from the east outer corridor.
Type Q 4. Rough ware bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type R 1. Rough ware bowl.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: 3 from the north corridor; 2 from the entrance stairway; 1 from the east
outer corridor; 1 from the east corridor; 2 from the funerary temple.
Examples of pot-marks are shown on Plate 33.
20
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Stone Vessels
(Plates 34 to 36)
Type A 1. Tall cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 31-0 cm.; max. width approx. 15-0 cm.
min. height approx. 16-8 cm.; min. width approx. 9'5 cm.
Type A 2. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 46.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 16-0 cm.; max. width 13-0 cm.
min. height 11*4 cm.; min. width 9-0 cm.
Type A 3. Tall cylindrical jar.
Total number: 4.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 25-0 cm.; max. width approx. 10-5 cm.
min. height approx. 18-0 cm.; min. width approx. 8-0 cm.
Type A 4. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 131.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 22-0 cm.; max. width approx. 24-0 cm.
min. height approx. 9-0 cm.; min. width approx. 9-0 cm.
Type A 5. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 40-0 cm.; max. width approx. 24-0 cm.
min. height approx. 20-0 cm.; min. width approx. 12-0 cm.
Type A 6. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 17-0 cm.; max. width 13-0 cm.
Type A 8. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 19.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 34-0 cm.; max. width approx. 23-0 cm.
min. height approx. 12-0 cm.; min. width approx. 8-0 cm.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type A 9. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 24-6 cm.; max. width approx. 16-0 cm.
min. height approx. 14-3 cm.; min. width approx. 9-0 cm.
Type A 10. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 71.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Materials: 67 alabaster; 3 crystalline alabaster; 1 veined marble.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 38-0 cm.; max. width approx. 21-0 cm.
min. height approx. 16-0 cm.; min. width approx. 8-5 cm.
Type All. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 6.
Distribution: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 24-0 cm.; max. width 15-0 cm.
min. height 15-0 cm.; min. width 9-0 cm.
Type A 13. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 21 cm.; max. width 16-0 cm.
Type A 14. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: not ascertainable.
Type A 15. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: not ascertainable.
Type A 16. Small cylindrical jar.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 5 alabaster; 1 yellow limestone.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 14-0 cm.; max. width approx. 9-2 cm.
min. height approx. 12-0 cm.; min. width approx. 8-0 cm.
Type A 17. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
22 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 13-0 cm.; max. width 15-0 cm.
Type A 24. Tall cylindrical jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 30-0 cm.; max. width 15-0 cm.
min. height 24-0 cm.; min. width 12-0 cm.
Type A 29. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 18-0 cm.; max. width 13-0 cm.
Type A 32. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 17-0 cm.; max. width 10-0 cm.
Type A 33. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 6*5 cm.; max. width 12-5 cm.
min. height 6-2 cm.; min. width 12-0 cm.
Type B 2. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 23.
Provenance: 22 from burial chamber; 1 from magazine B.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 39-0 cm.; max. width 18*0 cm.
min. height 13 0 cm.; min. width 6-0 cm.
Type B 4. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 25-0 cm.; max. width approx. 10-0 cm.
Type B 5. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 13.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 24-0 cm.; max. width 18-0 cm.
min. height 12-0 cm.; min. width 8-0 cm.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type C 1. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 25-0 cm.; m4x. width 12-5 cm.
Type C 4. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 199.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 195 of alabaster; 2 of breccia; 1 of basalt; 1 of crystalline alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 30-0 cm.; max. width 14-8 cm.
min. height 12-0 cm.; min. width 6-0 cm.
Type C 5. Large cylindrical jar.
Total number: 57.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 56 of alabaster; 1 of basalt.
Dimensions: max. height 46-0 cm.; max. width 25-0 cm.
min. height 20-0 cm.; min. width 11-0 cm.
Type C 6. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 10.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 25-0 cm.; max. width 16-0 cm.
min. height 13*0 cm.; min. width 9-0 cm.
Type C 7. Slender cylindrical jar.
Total number: 46.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 28-0 cm.; max. width 13-0 cm.
min. height 15-0 cm.; min. width 6-0 cm.
Type C 8. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 15-0 cm.; max. width 13-0 cm.
min. height 11*5 cm.; min. width 10-0 cm.
Type G 2. Small shouldered jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 13-0 cm.; max. width approx. 12-0 cm.
min. height approx. 11-0 cm.; min. width approx. 10-0 cm.
24
GREAT TOMBS OE THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
25
Type G 6. Shouldered jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 11-0 cm.; max. width 9-0 cm.
min. height 7-0 cm.; min. width 8-6 cm.
Type G 9. Shouldered jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 21-0 cm.; max. width approx. 12-0 cm.
min. height approx. 12-0 cm.; min. width approx. 7*0 cm.
Type G 10. Shouldered jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 21-0 cm.; max. width 12-0 cm.
Type G 12. Shouldered jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 12*0 cm.; max. width 9*5 cm.
Type H 1. Bulbous cylindrical jar with side handles.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 13*1 cm.; max. width 9-0 cm.
Type 11. Straight sided cup.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 18-0 cm.; max. width 16-0 cm.
Type I 2. Concave sided cup.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 18-0 cm.; max. width 16-0 cm.
Type 112. Straight sided cup
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: dolomite.
Dimensions: max. height 12-0 cm.; max. width 13-0 cm.
Type K 3. Cup with convex sides.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 2 alabaster; 1 rock crystal; 1 green-veined marble.
Dimensions: max. height 14-0 cm.; max. width 15-0 cm.
min. height 9-0 cm.; min. width 9-0 cm.
Type K 4. Cup with convex sides.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 16-0 cm.; max. width 21-0 cm.
min. height 7-0 cm.; min. width 10-2 cm.
Type K 8. Deep bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 20.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 11 limestone; 9 alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 13-0 cm.; max. width 27-0 cm.
min. height 7-0 cm.; min. width 13-0 cm.
Type S 5. Deep bowl.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 11-0 cm.; max. width 26-0 cm.
min. height 9-1 cm.; min. width 17-0 cm.
Type S 6. Deep bowl.
Total number: 12.
Provenance: 11 from the burial chamber; 1 from magazine A.
Materials: 2 alabaster; 3 schist; 3 volcanic ash; 2 dolomite; 1 rock crystal; 1 diorite.
Dimensions: max. height 14-0 cm.; max. width 35-0 cm.
min. height 7-8 cm.; min. width 19-0 cm.
Type S 7. Deep bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 7-8 cm.; max. width 17-0 cm.
Type S 8. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 12-0 cm.; max. width 28-0 cm.
Type S 9. Bowl.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: 10 from the burial chamber; 1 from magazine A.
e
26
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Materials: 6 alabaster; 4 volcanic ash; 1 diorite.
Dimensions: max. height 18-0 cm.; max. width 33-0 cm.
min. height 10-5 cm.; min. width 20-0 cm.
Type S 10. Bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 1 schist; 1 volcanic ash.
Dimensions: max. height 6-0 cm.; max. width 16-0 cm.
min. height 2-9 cm.; min. width 10-2 cm.
Type S 13. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 12-4 cm.; max. width 20-0 cm.
Type S 16. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 22-0 cm.; max. width 33-0 cm.
Type S 18. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 9-0 cm.; max. width 37-0 cm.
min. height 74) cm.; min. width 30-0 cm.
Type S 19. Large shallow bowl.
Total number: 69.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 22 alabaster; 44 schist; 1 limestone; 1 rock crystal.
Dimensions: max. height 8-0 cm.; max. width 55-0 cm.
min. height 3*0 cm.; min. width 25-0 cm.
Type T 2. Shallow dish.
Total number: 38.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 22 alabaster; 15 schist; 1 limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 9-4 cm.; max. width 50-0 cm.
min. height 1-8 cm.; min. width 15-0 cm.
Type T 5. Small shallow dish.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 3 schist.
Dimensions: max. height 6-6 cm.; max. width 27-0 cm.
min. height 3-0 cm.; min. width 13-0 cm.
Type T 6. Bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 2 alabaster; 1 rock crystal; 1 schist.
Dimensions: max. height 6-8 cm.; nmSc. width 20-0 cm.
min. height 6-0 cm.; min. width 19-0 cm.
Type T 8. Bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 6-3 cm.; max. width 18-0 cm.
min. height 5-2 cm.; min. width 17-0 cm.
Type T 10. Bowl.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 7 limestone; 2 alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 12-8 cm.; max. width 32-0 cm.
min. height 5-0 cm.; min. width 17*0 cm.
Type Til. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 1 breccia.
Dimensions: max. height 10-8 cm.; max. width 28-0 cm.
Type T 12. Bowl.
Total number: 13.
Provenance: 12 from burial chamber; 1 from the subsidiary grave
Materials: 11 alabaster; 1 marble.
Dimensions: max. height 13-0 cm.; max. width 26-0 cm.
min. height 4-0 cm.; min. width 8-0 cm.
Type T 14. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 1 diorite.
Dimensions: max. height 14-0 cm.; max. width 31-0 cm.
min. height 11-0 cm.; min. width 28-0 cm.
Type T 15. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: dolomite.
Dimensions: max. height 14-0 cm.; max. width 24-0 cm.
Type T 17. Bowl.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: burial chamber.
28
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
29
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 9-0 cm.; max. width 19-0 cm.
min. height 5-5 cm.; min. width 14-0 cm.
Type T 18. Bowl.
Total number: 5.
Provenance:burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 13-0 cm.; max. width 35-0 cm.
min. height 6-0 cm.; min. width 17-0 cm.
Type T 19. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 4-5 cm.; max. width 18-0 cm.
min. height 4-0 cm.; min. width 15-0 cm.
Type T 20. Bowl.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 6 alabaster; 2 schist; 1 limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 12-0 cm.; max. width 37-0 cm.
min. height 8-5 cm.; min. width 29-0 cm.
Type T 21. Bowl.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 2 alabaster; 1 volcanic ash; 1 basalt; 1 diorite
Dimensions: max. height 10-0 cm.; max. width 21-0 cm.
min. height 9-0 cm.; min. width 15-0 cm.
Type V 1. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber and east corridor.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 10-0 cm.; max. width 32-0 cm.
Type V 4. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 2 schist.
Dimensions: not ascertainable.
Type X 3. Oval bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 3-8 cm.; max. width 18-5 cm.
Type Y 4. Spouted bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 15-0 cm.; max: width 23-0 cm.
Type Z 2. Heavy bowl.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: 4 in burial chamber; 1 in subsidiary grave in east corridor.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 1 dolomite; 2 marble; 1 black and white porphyritic rock.
Dimensions: max. height 8 - 0 cm.; max. width 13• 0 cm.
min. height 4-0 cm.; min. width 7-0 cm.
Type Z 3. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 dolomite; 1 marble.
Dimensions: max. height 8'0 cm.; max. width 11*0 cm.
min. height 3-5 cm.; min. width 5-0 cm.
Type Z 6. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: schist.
Dimensions: not ascertainable.
Type Z 8. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 5-0 cm.; max. width 14-0 cm.
Type Z 9. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 84) cm.; max. width 13 - 0 cm.
Type A A 2. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 12-5 cm.; max. width 28-0 cm.
Type BB 1. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber and east corridor.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 1 limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 124) cm.; max. width 28 , 0 cm.
min. height 7-0 cm.; min. width 17-5 cm.
30
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
31
Type CC 1. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 11*0 cm.; max. width 35 0 cm.
min. height 10-0 cm.; min. width 3T0 cm.
The Inscribed Material
(Plates 23, 28, 37, 38, and 39)
The inscriptions found in Tomb 3505 can be divided into the following categories:
A. The stela of Merka.
B. Inscriptions on stone vessels.
C. Inscriptions on pottery vessels.
D. Mud seal-impressions.
A. The Stela of Merka (Plates 23 and 39)
A big stela of yellowish coloured limestone with the figure, name, and titles of Merka was
found in the east corridor between the 5th and 6th niche from the north, Cat. No. 74 (Plates
23 and 39). The stela belonged to a grave found underneath the 6th niche from the north and
marked at the surface by two parallel slabs of limestone of similar structure and workmanship
as the stela. These slabs flanked the niche, cutting across the corridor, while the stela itself
perhaps fitted into the niche.
The workmanship of the stela is crude. The shape is irregular. It is pointed roughly at the
bottom, but the two sides of the blunt triangle thus formed are of diff erent length and angle.
The max. height is 173 cm., the max. width 54 cm., and the max. thickness 24 cm. On the stela
is a rectangle with the figure of Merka, his name and titles. The height of the rectangle is 130 cm.,
the width at the top 35 cm., at the bottom 30 cm. The left side of the rectangle curves slightly
down to the narrower bottom.
The figure and hieroglyphs are pounded out with little balls of a hard stone, a technique also
used on the stela of Sabef and other stelae from Abydos (cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pis. 30 ff.),
although occasionally a chisel was used to cut a line.
The hieroglyphs show the usual disorder of the First Dynasty, which makes a reading of the
different titles very difficult. At the bottom the inscription seems to be left partly unfinis hed.
At the bottom left the seated figure of Merka is shown. He sits on a stool with a cushion. The
stool stands on a platform. The back leg of the stool has the shape of a bull’s leg, the front leg
is hidden by the legs of Merka. The figure seems to be wrapped in a long dress, covering the left
arm. With the right arm he holds a long staff. Traces of paint outline this staff on the figure.
The height of the figure from apex to bottom of platform is 33 cm.
The stela forms, with the Bankfield stela, 1 an important link between the two types of stelae
known from the archaic period, the round-topped stela from Abydos and the rectangular slab
from Memphis. 2
1 J.E.A. IV, pp. 256-60 and PL 55.
> 2 See Junker > Giza > h PP- 2 3 fi-; Scharff in Studies Griffith, pp. 346 ft; Junker, Giza, II, pp. 4 ft; and Vandier, Manuel
d’archeologie egyptienne, I, pp. 724 ff., esp. pp. 740 ff.
The inscription on the stela seems to be roughly divided into three registers: two short vertical
lines divide the top line of hieroglyphs. The third register, above the figure, gives the main titles
and name: & mi irj-ped sm mr-ks ‘the imv-priest, 1 prince, 2 sm-priest 3 Merka’. The
name Merka occurs also on seal-impressions (D 7 and 8), on stone vessels (B 7, 35, 43), and is
known from Abydos. 4
The reading of the many other titles meets with difficulties. It is often difficult to tell which
sign or groups of signs belong together. This applies in particular to the group of signs in front
of the figure of Merka.
Under the figure of Anubis at the top in the centre are the signs <=> and <=>, perhaps a priestly
title irj-wt (?). Underneath <7, followed by two squares, ‘great one of...’, then jj(?)l sms-w (?)
nsw ‘follower (?) of the King of Upper Egypt’. Underneath a sign of uncertain reading (in or
tpl), then hrp wji nsw ‘captain of the boat of the King of Upper Egypt’; then the two
titles || and |fTJ, hrp ch ‘head of the palace’ and hrp sh ‘head of the hall’. 5
Titles in the first register are: .. (? the sign looks like J hrw ‘voice’) I nsw ‘. . . of the King
of Upper Egypt’; ^[W]5i|| cd-mrhiHtrr-srw (?) ‘ administrator of the country of Tjarsau’(?) 6 ;
w
115 hm-ntr n*t ‘priest of Neith’. Follows a group |J*^ is-crih ‘office of life’; 7 then cd-mr
‘administrator’, & wnd ‘the nome of Hermopolis’(?); mh (?) ‘North’(?); f 1 hk; nsw , a title
known from the O.K.; 8 J mdw ‘staff’; f hrp ‘head’; a scorpion on a ring: Srht(l) ‘Selkis’(?),
cf. the title hrp $rht; 9 fl is ‘office’; finally the title *jjf hrp mr('wt ) ‘head of the singers’. 10
Underneath the chair is a group of three birds and a up: hrw p ‘souls of Buto’(?) ; n then
^ hity ‘King of Lower Egypt’ and two signs of uncertain reading.
B. Inscriptions on Stone Vessels (Plate 38)
1. Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist plate, found on the surface. A serekh without
the Horus contains the name of a hitherto unknown King PJU Snfr-fo Seneferka. As the
other groups of this inscription occur often with the serekh of King Ka’a, the reign of this
(ephemeral ?) king or usurper probably followed shortly after the reign of Ka’a. The name
occurs once more in a serekh with the Horus on a stone vessel from the Step-pyramid com¬
plex of Zoser. 12 There the name Seneferka has taken the place of a previous name which was
erased. This name was probably also Ka’a, as the rest of the inscription occurs again in
another inscription from the same source, this time with the serekh of King Ka’a. To the
1 See for this title Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln , pp. 45 f.
• 2 See for this title Tomb 3506, A 1.
3 A sm-priest of the reign of King Ka’a is known from Abydos, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs , I, PL 8, 5; PL 9, 8 and 12. See
also Tomb 3507, seal-impression 6.
4 Cf. Scharff, Altertumer For- und Fruhzeit Agyptens, I, p. 224, no. 653, and the name of a woman mrt-Jci on a stela
from Abydos in Petrie, Royal Tombs , II, Pis. 26 and 29, 61.
6 Both titles occur also on the stela of Sabef, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs , I, Pis. 30 and 31; hrp ch also on seal-impression 9.
See for these titles Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln , pp. 32, 33, and 85,
6 Or does s;.w 4 priestly orders’ belong to another title?
7 Cf. is-dfi ( office of provisions ’, Petrie, Royal Tombs , II, Pis. 21-24.
8 Worterbuch , III, p. 173, 2.
9 See Zeitschr. Agypt. Spr. 63, pp. 65 f.
10 See Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln , p. 36.
11 Cf. for this group Petrie, Royal Tombs , II, PL 24, 211.
12 Kind information by J. Ph. Lauer. This inscription will be published as No. 6 on Pl. XVII of P. Lacau et J. Ph. Lauer,
La Pyramide d Degres, Yol. IY.
32
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
33
left of the serelch is a rectangular building called 'f st h) nb ‘ protection behind the lord L 1
Underneath the titles [ffl4 hnty pr-nsw ‘head of the palace’ and ivr si(-w) ‘great one
of the priestly order(s) ’. 2
6. Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist vessel. A fragment of a sign of uncertain
reading.
7. Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist plate, type T 2 (stone vessel, Cat. No. 305).
The name Merka, see the stela.
8. Inscription scratched on a fragment of an alabaster bowl, type S. The title sm ‘sm-priest’,
see the stela and inscriptions B 35, 43; C 11, 16.
9. Scribblings on both sides of a fragment of an alabaster table. Cat. No. 54. The scribblings
are counting strokes: each time two vertical strokes crossed by a horizontal stroke. Cf. for
scribblings on stone, Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 110, no. 13.
31. Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist vessel. Fragments of two signs of uncertain
reading.
35. Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist plate, type T 2 (stone vessel, Cat. No. 304).
The sm-priest Merka, cf. the stela and inscription B 8.
43. Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist bowl, type S 9 (stone vessel. Cat. No. 306).
The text reads sm-priest Mer(ka), see inscription B 35, and the title (®Q hnty ip-t ‘head of
the Harim’. This title of Merka does not occur on his stela. Cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I,
PL 28, 77.
59. Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist vessel. Of the text the sign «*■ s; is preserved.
C. Inscriptions on Pottery Vessels (Plate 38)
11. Ink inscription on a fragment of a pottery jar, type B 1. The title ‘sm-priest’, see
inscription B 8, is followed by traces of a sign which is probably %w.
16. Ink inscription on a fragment of a pottery jar, type B 1. The text is the same as that
of 11.
D. Mud Seal-impressions (Plates 37 and 38)
Tomb 3505 produced 39 sealings of the following types: 3
Type 1: dome-shaped and composed of a grey-black clay. One of the sealings of this type had
a surface of a yellowish coloured clay.
Type 2: cone-shaped and composed of a yellowish coloured clay.
Type 3: flat-topped and composed of grey-black clay.
Type 4: bag-sealings, composed of black clay. Four bag-sealings were composed of a yellowish
coloured clay.
Three sealings were found in room 8 of the temple (seal-impressions 10, 14, and 24). The
sealings of type 3 were found in the east corridor together with pottery of type C 4.
1 Cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 8, 2 and 12; PI. 9,1, 2, and 4; Pis. 30 and 31 (Ka’a). The same building under Hetep-
sekhemui in Amelineau, Nouv. Fouilles, 1896/97, PI. 21, 1 and 6; cf. also Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 8, 12 (Raneb), and
the name of the tomb(?) of Adjib, Emery, Great Tombs, I, p. 82. See Helck, ZJntersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln, p. 33,
nn. 33—34.
2 Restored from Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 9,1-5. Cf. also ibid., PI. 8,14; PI. 9,11; II, PI. 8, 7; Petrie, Abydos, I, PI. 5;
Annales du Service, 7, p. 272 (28), and seal-impression 3.
3 See Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 19.
There are 24 different seal-impressions; 5 have the serelch of King Ka’a (1-5), while on one (6)
a serelch occurs with traces of a name which do not fit the name Ka’a. Two seal-impressions bear
the name Merka (7, 8), the owner of the stela and whose name also occurs on stone vessels
(B 7, 8, 35, 43).
Rough hieroglyphs were scratched across one of the sealings of type 1 with seal-impression 5
(Plate 37, No. 75).
Many of the sealings are mere fragments, and the reading and translation of the texts offer
many difficulties.
1. (Plate 37.) 8 examples of type 1, from the filling of the burial chamber (1 fragment from the
magazine to the left of the stairway). Approximate dimensions: width 3-3 cm., circum¬
ference 9-2 cm.
Design: The serelch of King Ka’a alternates with a rectangular enclosure, containing two
signs of uncertain reading. Cf. for this group Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 18, 144; Emery,
Great Tombs, I, p. 82, fig. 45; Annales du Service, 3, p. 189 (4) (Second Dynasty).
2. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, from the filling of the burial chamber. Approximate dimen¬
sions: uncertain.
Design: The serelch of King Ka’a alternates with (a) 0] hwd-ntr ‘temple’; (6) a group con¬
sisting of bh and a sealed jar :{d)bh ‘offering^?); (c) ^dbh ‘offering ’(?) and underneath
the figure of a ram with feathers on the horns. 1
3. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 1, from the filling of the burial chamber. Approximate dimen¬
sions: uncertain.
Design: The serelch of King Ka’a alternates with a group consisting of ^*>(?), *=- and •»,
possibly the title wr sj(-w) ‘great one of the priestly order(s) ’, see B 1.
4. (Plate 37.) 2 examples of type 4, one, of grey-black clay, from the magazine to the left of
the stairway, one, of yellowish coloured clay, from the filling of the stairway.
Approximate dimensions: width 3 cm., circumference 7 cm.
Design: The serelch of King Ka’a alternates with (a) a group consisting of the god Wepwawet
on a standard and «=», possibly reading irj-wp-wi-wt ‘belonging to Wepwawet’, and (6) a
group consisting of the title sm ‘sm-priest’, see the stela and B 8, and traces of the
title V hrj-c ‘subordinate’. Wepwawet on his standard occurs also in Tomb 3506, seal-
impression 18; Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 15, 108 and 109 (Zer); ibid. I, PI. 32, 39;
II, PI. 17, 135; and Am6lineau, Nouv. Fouilles, 1895/96, PI. 33 (Den). See for the title
hrj-c, Petrie, Royal Tombs, I. Pis. 22, 35 and 23, 40, and Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 126,
no. 52. On a seal-impression of the time of Zoser the titles sm and i hrj-c occur together
with Wepwawet on his standard, cf. Garstang, Mahasna and Bet-Khalldf, PI. 8, 1.
5. (Plate 37.) 3 examples of type 1, from the filling of the stairway and from the east corridor
near the stairway. These sealings were burnt to a red-brown colour on the surface, while on
one of them rough hieroglyphs were incised across the seal-impression (Plate 38, Fig. 75).
Approximate dimensions: width 4-6 cm., circumference: uncertain.
Design: The serelch of King Ka’a alternates with a group consisting of ■%, and reading
hrj sht irnn-t (?) ‘head of the sht of the West(?)’. Sht as a verb can mean ‘to trap’, ‘to
weave’, or ‘to make bricks’. Cf. for this sign Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pis. 22, 31 and 28,77.
1 See L. Keimer in Annales du Service, 38, pp. 297 if., esp. pp. 322 ff. for rams with feathers on the horns.
34
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
35
See for an animal- or bird-trap of different shape Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 107, no. 77, seal-
impression 17, and Tomb 3506, seal-impression 45. A reading Ibt't of the bird-trap is also
possible, cf. the title hrp Ibt't Hr {Worterbuch, I, p. 65, and Helck, Untersuchungen zu den
Beamtentiteln, p. 34).
Of the hieroglyphs incised across the seal-impression two seem to represent a fortress. The other
signs are <= $ and ’l d. For hieroglyphs incised on mud sealings see Ayrton, &c., Abydos, III,
PI. 10.
6. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 1, from the filling of the burial chamber (fragment).
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: the serekh of a king, whose name does not fit the name Ka’a, and the signs 8 sdiwty (?)
‘treasurer’ (see 17, 20, and 21, also Tomb 3506, seal-impression 37), J sms (?), and a sign
of uncertain reading: 6 (?).
7. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 2, from the filling of the burial chamber (fragment).
Approximate dimensions: width 5*7 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The name and title ‘^m-priest’ of Merka, see the stela and inscription B 8. The
other titles, which do not occur on the stela (see inscription B 43), consist of the signs
[jjjfl hnty, 0 reading wn-t (cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PL 15, 18; Abydos, I, PI. 11, 8) or mb
(cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PL 23, 193) (see for the group (ffilQ Petrie, Royal Tombs, I,
Pl. 28, 77); the plural of Q hwt ‘house’, while the three identical signs above hwt
probably read km-w ‘vineyard’, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pl. 27, 68; II,
Pl. 23, 191, 193, and 196; Pl. 25, 202 and 204; Garstang, Mahasna and Bet-Khalldf,
Pl. 9, 5; Quibell, Archaic Mastabas, Pl. 15, 3; and Scharff in Studies Griffith, p. 348.
8. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, composed of yellowish coloured clay, from the filling of
the stairway.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: the text consists of the name Merka, see 7, the traces of and a group, containing
a <=», of uncertain reading.
9. (Plate 37.) 2 examples of type 4, one composed of black clay, one of yellowish coloured clay,
from the filling of the stairway.
Approximate dimensions: width 2 cm., circumference 7-3 cm.
Design: A LI holding the f probably gives the name shm-ki(-y ?), cf. Emery, Great Tombs,
II, p. 103, with the title ”5* iry-ih-t ‘overseer of property’, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II,
Pl. 22, 188, and Annales du Service, 3, p. 189 (3). This group alternates with a number
of titles: Q . . .; cd-mr hs-Hy p ‘administrator of the two countries of Buto’(?);
f| hrp ch ‘head of the palace’, a title which also occurs on the stela of Merka;
im hm( c (), cf. for the title(?) im Emery, Great Tombs, I, p. 82, fig. 46; Great Tombs, II,
p. 118, no. 15; Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pl. 19, 7; hm-ntr mtcd ‘priest of Maret’(?).
10. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, from room 8 of the temple.
Approximate dimensions: width 1*2 cm., circumference 4*1 cm.
Design: The name nfr-mr-lb, Nefermerib, 1 with the titles PfcpB) dsr hnm'W (or bi
‘ram’ ?) ‘ dsr-priest of Khnum ’ (cf.(?) Petrie, Abydos, I, Pl. 4,14), and j'y 1 shm his-t wis-t
‘leader of the country of Waset (the 4th nome of Upper Egypt ?)
11. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4 from the north corridor.
Approximate dimensions: width 2-3 cm., circumference 7-1 cm.
Design: The seal-impressions 11-16 contain the same elements. Although the signs are
known hieroglyphs, the reading and meaning of the groups are uncertain. In 11-13 a
double P occurs. The title wn-c (cf. Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln, p. 37)
occurs in 11 and 12 (in 13 0 without —*), in 14, and perhaps in 15 and 16; in 12 in con¬
nexion with the group n ^, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pl. 5, 3. The n occurs in 13 with
^ (!)q and —, cf. the group in 15 and the reading tm / for ft. In 11 and 12 mtc-t,
see 9, in 11 with the group +| wn-di (?), x in 12 with wn-rs (?), cf. the O.K. title wnr
in Worterbuch, I, p. 323 (see Helck, Untersuchungen, p. 123). +1 also in 14, in 13 the 1
sign with v lb ‘heart’. In 13 we read the title f hm-ki ‘servant of the ka’. The U which
may be part of the name, occurs in 11 with P and cf. the name st-k; in Tomb 3506,
seal-impressions 36-39, in 12 with a sign of uncertain reading and , in 13 again with ,
in 14 with a bird and 1, and again with Q and ***(?), in 15 with Q, cf. the name(?) iki in
Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 120, no. 24.
12. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, from the north corridor.
Approximate dimensions: width 1-9 cm., circumference 5-5 cm.
Design: see 11.
13. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, from the east corridor.
Approximate dimensions: width 2-3 cm., circumference 7-4 cm.
Design: see 11.
14. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, from room 8 of the temple.
Approximate dimensions: width 2*7 cm., circumference 9T cm.
Design: see 11.
15. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, in two fragments, one from the filling of the stairway, one
from outside the east corridor near the north end of the tomb.
Approximate dimensions: width 2 cm., circumference 4-9 cm.
Design: see 11.
16. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, from the filling of the stairway.
Approximate dimensions: width T5 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: see 11.
17. (Plate 37.) 1 example of type 4, from the filling of the stairway.
Approximate dimensions: width 2-2 cm., circumference 5-8 cm.
Design: The text consists of alternating groups: (a) the animal- or bird-trap, see 5, and
mr; (b) -ft, see 11, and 8 sdmty (?), see 6; (c) <= and the animal- or bird-trap; {d) =
and <=. I have no translation to suggest.
18. (Plate 37.) 5 examples of type 3, from the east corridor and belonging to pottery of type C 4.
Approximate dimensions: width 6-7 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The design consists of a row of granaries bearing inscriptions, cf. the granaries
which are often depicted on the walls of O.K. mastabas. The granaries have the same
1 Or must 4 s be read im, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pl. 23; htp nb'wy im'f in. the name of Khasekhemui ? The group
Jtf in 13 may suggest that it is a form of the sign ■Q’, but cf. 12.
1 Cf. the O.K. name Nefermeretib in Ranke, Personennamen, I, p. 196, 28.
36
GREAT TOMBS OP THE FIRST DYNASTY
shape as the gaming-pieces which are found in First Dynasty graves, cf. Emery, Great
Tombs, II, PL 29. Granaries occur on First Dynasty seal-impressions, cf. Petrie, Royal
Tombs, I, PI. 23, 42 and 43; Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 122, no. 43; Tomb 3506, seal-
impression 46. The inscriptions on the granaries read: (a) (?) wr p ‘great one of
Buto’(?), cf. for this title Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln, pp. 19-20; (b)
hry-wdb hwt-cnh ‘Master of the King’s Largess in the Mansion of Life’, see Gardiner in
J.E.A. XXIV, pp. 83-91, and Helck, Untersuchungen, pp. 68 ff.; a pr hry-wdb is known
from a seal-impression in Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 23,197; (c) a group consisting of *=,
a crouching ram, and zp ‘threshing-floor(?) ’, see for a similar group on a stela of the
time of Zer, Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pis. 26 and 29, 67 ; x (d) sd/wty snwt ‘treasurer
of the granary’, a title which is known from the O.K., cf. Petrie, Gizeh and Rif eh, PI. 7 A,
1-2; (e) || bd't ‘emmer’; (/) '2' it ‘barley’; (g) the sign <?• remains; the inscription on
t
the next granary is lost, while of the text on the last granary only P can be read.
19. (Plate 39.) 1 example of type 4, from the east corridor (fragment).
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The signs P, J|, and remain of the text.
20. (Plate 39.) 1 example of type 4, composed of yellowish coloured clay, from the filling of the
stairway.
Approximate dimensions: width 2-2 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: 8 sdiwty (?) ‘treasurer’, see 6, PP, ff, <=, P, and ■— 0 can be read.
21. (Plate 39.) 1 example of type 4, from the filling of the stairway (fragment).
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: A few signs can be read: Q, P, 8, =, =, and the animal- or bird-trap, see 17.
22. (Plate 39.) 1 example of type 4, from the filling of the stairway (fragment).
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: Few details are certain; "A can be read and perhaps *=*.
23. (Plate 39.) 1 example of type 4, composed of yellowish coloured clay, from the filling of the
stairway.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The lower part of the text is partly preserved. The signs v wsh{ c i), P, Q,[](?), Q, P, —",
a sign of uncertain reading, n, and P.
24. (Plate 39.) 1 example of type 1, from room 8 of the temple (fragment, badly damaged and
with overlapping seal-impressions).
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: =, Q, and a bird ^(?) can be read.
1 Instead of — here p, an example of the interchange of s(z) and s as early as the First Dynasty ?
PART III
TOMB NO. 3506
CHAPTER V
INTRODUCTION
The tomb is situated immediately to the south-east of Tomb No. 3505 on the edge of the
escarpment. From the inscribed material and other objects, the monument can certainly be
dated to the reign of Udimu, but no evidence was found which would identify the actual owner.
Apart from clay jar sealings of Udimu, we found many examples of seals bearing the names of
his principal officials, Hemaka, Ankhka, Medjedka, and Mesenka. The size and elaborate design
of the structure almost certainly indicate that it belonged to a member of the royal family and
the fact that the offerings of food and drink were sealed by such great nobles as Hemaka and
Ankhka adds further support to this hypothesis (Part I, General Introduction).
Although the tomb had been plundered and replundered, it would appear that unlike other
big burials at Sakkara, some considerable time must have elapsed before it was entered by
robbers, who made their entrance not by tunnelling or by breaking through the stairway block¬
ing, but from above through the wooden roofing. This may or may not have been intact at the
time of the sacrilege, but the presence of rough retaining walls within the redeem in the sub¬
structure suggests that the robbers were compelled to tunnel their way through fallen debris.
Moreover, there was none of the usual trace of fire, and the entrance stairway was intact.
CHAPTER VI
ARCHITECTURE
General Description
(Plates 40 and 41)
Although in general design the tomb conforms to the usual type of middle First Dynasty,
it had many unique architectural features. Detailed examination and the removal of certain
parts of the structure showed that it had been built in two distinct stages by the architect, who
first constructed a building to serve some unknown purpose and then, after this purpose was
fulfilled, altered and added to it to serve its final function as a tomb and house for the dead.
The structure as first conceived and completed consisted of a great rectangular rock-cut pit,
access to which was gained by a descending stairway on its east side. Around the edge of the
pit, which measured 14-50 by 9-00 metres, was a shelf cut 1-0 metre below ground level, which
formed a narrow corridor or triforium flanked on its inner side by buttressed walls of brick.
Although this corridor could be reached by a stairway ascending from the north-east corner of
the pit, it had its own independent entrance consisting of a small stepped gateway descending
from ground level to the south-east corner of the building. The whole structure was unroofed
and open to the sky (Plate 42). The walls and floor of the big pit were faced with white gypsum
plaster, as was the pavement of the triforium and the steps and walls of the entrance stairways.
Although of undoubted funerary character, the building, though complete even to its plaster
and paint, could not have been used as an actual tomb, and we can only surmise that at this
stage it was designed and used for ceremonies which were performed prior to the actual inter¬
ment—perhaps enacted some time before the death of the owner. When the time came for the
final completion of the structure as a tomb, the floor level of the triforium surro unding the pit
was raised with brickwork, within which were embedded the ends of great wooden beams and
planks which made a vast roof over the entire substructure. At the same time the triforium was
divided up by cross walls into a series of small magazines to contain funerary offerings. These
little rooms were roofed with timber and the stairway which originally gave access to this part
of the building was filled up with brickwork to ground level (Plate 43).
In the pit, a series of deep recesses were built of brick against the original flat walls, completely
covering the white-plastered surface. The original rock-cut floor covered with white plaster was
concealed below a wooden floor on which rested a further wooden structure which contained the
burial. Finally, above this elaborate substructure and the entrance stairway a vast rectangular
superstructure, measuring 47-0 by 20-0 metres, was erected on ground level. Built of brick with
a rubble core, its exterior was decorated on all four sides with the usual recessed panelling. On
the north and east sides a series of small subsidiary tombs were built to accommodate the bodies
of the owner’s retainers, buried with him to continue their service in the after-life.
On an east-west axis parallel with the north fagade of the superstructure, a shallow trench
was cut in which was placed a funerary boat of white plastered wood. This vessel, 14-50 metres
in length, had a central cabin and two holds containing pottery vessels for food and drink.
GREAT TOMBS OE THE FIRST DYNASTY
39
The whole of this complex of tomb, subsidiary graves, and funerary boat was enclosed by a
thick brick wall with a total measurement of 67-0 metres from north to south and 28-50 metres
from east to west.
Details and Measurements
The First Structure
(Plate 42)
The first construction consists of a rectangular excavation measuring 14-40 metres from north
to south and 8-50 metres from east to west, cut to a depth of 5-15 metres from ground level.
The gravel stratum, 1-15 metres deep, has been cut back from the edges of this great pit leaving
a shelf 1-20 metres wide on all four sides, which thus forms a surrounding gallery or triforium.
The gravel sides of this gallery are retained by a brick wall which is supported at intervals on the
east and west sides by buttresses, also of brickwork, but not bonded with the wall (Plate 63).
This surrounding wall is raised from the floor of the gallery to about 0-50 metre above ground
level and there is no doubt that this was its maximum height, for the top has been carefully
finis hed with mud plaster. The walls and floor of the substructure have been faced with a thick
facing of white gypsum plaster.. The floor of the surrounding gallery is also covered with white
plaster, as are the buttresses built against the gallery wall which itself is painted yellow (Plate 64).
The main entrance to the gallery consists of a descending stairway situated in the south-east
corner; but two other methods of entry exist, one a narrow series of steps descending from the
top of the west surrounding wall in the south-west corner (Plate 65), and the other a stairway
ascending from the bottom of the great pit in the north-east corner. The main stairway to the
bottom of the great pit commences 10-20 metres east of the surrounding wall of the substructure
(Plate 54). Bounded by vertical brick walls 1-45 metres apart, it consists of two brick-built steps,
a landing, and then a flight of sixteen brick-built steps terminating with a narrow landing and
a finely built gate of limestone opening directly into the pit 1-20 metres above its floor level.
Excavation disclosed the existence of an earlier flight of steps below the stairway, but these have
no significance beyond an alteration in the architect’s plan, for although apparently satisfactory
they were abandoned in an unfinished state and filled up with rubble and sand. As part of the
first structure the stairway was unroofed; the upper part of the side walls was painted yellow
on mud plaster, and the lower part and the steps faced with white gypsum stucco (Plate 55).
The axonometric projection on Plate 42 shows the first structure in its entirety. The unbroken
plaster facing on the walls of both gallery and pit show that at this stage it was entirely open
to the sky and was intended to be so. There can be no question that it was an unfinished struc¬
ture ; it was complete and finished even to the final white lime wash over the gypsum plaster.
However, its condition, particularly noticeable in the entrance stairway, shows that no very
great period of time elapsed before it was altered to serve its final function as a tomb.
40
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
against the white plastered walls of the original pit. These walls reduced the floor space to
11*70 metres north to south and 5*25 metres from east to west. Each of the four walls contained
deep recesses with wooden roofs at a height of 2*15 metres above floor level (Plates 56, 57, and
58). The wall surfaces and the interior of the recesses were faced with mud plaster with no trace
of gypsum stucco, and in general the building gives an impression of rapidity of construction.
After the building of the walls the white plastered surface of the floor of the original structure
was covered with sand, on which was laid a wooden floor, details of which are shown in Plate 59.
At the foot of the entrance gateway a flight of six brick-built steps was built on a rubble founda¬
tion and this also showed evidence of hurried construction (Plate 54 b). The next step in
reconstruction was the raising of the floor of the surrounding gallery by brickwork in which
were embedded the beams and planks of the wooden roof which covered the whole of the sub¬
structure (Plate 43). On this new floor the gallery was divided up into a series of small magazines
by the building of a border wall and cross walls which on the east and west sides joined the
original buttresses built against the retaining walls of the gallery (Plate 62). Each small maga¬
zine was separately roofed with wooden planks, and here again evidence of rapidity of b uildin g
was noticeable. The main stairway entrance to the gallery in the south-east corner was blocked
solid with brickwork, but the small opposite stairway in the south-west corner was left un¬
covered. The main entrance stairway to the substructure was roofed with logs of timber for a
distance of 4*50 metres from the stone gateway, to support the foundations of the mastaba
superstructure which was to be built over it (Plate 52). The gateway itself is a unique structure,
consisting of three perfectly cut slabs of limestone, 0*37 metre thick, which formed the jambs
and lintel. Plate 55 shows details of its construction. The gateway was not blocked with the
usual portcullis stone and there is no groove for its reception. Instead, the whole gateway
was filled with brick behind a wooden door which was painted red. The side walls of the
landing between the last step of the descending stairway had wooden facings painted yellow
(Plate 53).
The Enclosure Wall and Corridor (Plates 50 and 51)
The enclosure wall surrounds both the tomb and the boat grave, with a cross wall between
the two structures. The main entrance is situated directly above the first steps of the entrance
stairway to the tomb on the east side, and a subsidiary entrance is situated at the east end of
the north side. Communication between the corridor and the boat-grave enclosure is effected
through a gate at the east end of the dividing wall. The bricks are laid in alternate courses of
headers and stretchers with a skin wall of stretchers on the inner and outer faces of the structure.
Both the pavement of the corridor and the faces of the enclosure wall were originally covered
with white gypsum plaster.
Measurements: Total length north-south 67*00 metres
east-west
28*50
99
Thickness
1*15
99
Width of corridor: north side
3*00
99
south „
2*65
99
east „
3*65
99
west „
2*00
99
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
41
The Superstructure (Plates 50 and 51)
Exterior measurements of main walls:
north
19*50 metres
south
19*60
99
east
47*50
99
«
west
47*60
99
Thickness of main walls:
north
4*20
99
south
4*30
99
east
4*45
99
west
4*30
99
Maximum height of walls as found:
2*00
99
The brickwork is laid in tile fashion in courses of three headers to one of stretchers, with reed
bonding between each fifth course.
The exterior of the superstructure is decorated with the usual ‘palace fa<jade’ panelling on all
four sides: thirteen large niches on the long sides and five on the short. This elaborate recessed
panelling is built with specially small bricks, measuring 15 by 7 by 7 cm., similar to those used
in the tomb of Hemaka (No. 3035). Plate 40 shows the formation of this panelling.
Measurements of the palace fa 9 ade:
Large niche: max. width 1*75 metres
max. depth 1*05 „
Small niche: max. width 0*35 „
max. depth 0*20 „
The interior face of the walls of the superstructure is supported by bonded buttresses, 0*85 metre
wide, built at average intervals of 4*0 metres on the long sides and 2*0 metres on the short. No
magazines exist within the superstructure which has a filling of rubble and sand.
A low ‘bulls’-head’ bench of brickwork, laid in header and stretcher formation 0*50 metre
wide and 0*23 metre deep, is built at the base of the exterior of the panelled superstructure on
all its four sides. The whole of the exterior of the superstructure has been faced with thick mud
plaster, on which was a white gypsum stucco finish; but no trace of colourwork was preserved.
At the south-west corner of the edge of the substructure an uneven pavement of bricks laid
in tile formation was discovered below the filling of the main superstructure. Although not
appreciated at the time, later discoveries suggest that this may have been part of the brick
casing of an earthen tumulus raised immediately above the substructure as in Tomb No. 3507.
On the other hand it may have been part of a stepped superstructure such as that in Tomb
No. 3038.
The Subsidiary Graves (Plates 45 to 49)
In the east and north corridors between the superstructure and the enclosure are a series of
ten subsidiary graves containing the burials of sacrificed retainers. Each grave is built separately,
spaced on average about 4*0 metres apart. The graves consist of a rectangular pit of about 2*15
by 16*0 metres cut to a depth of 1*25 metres and fined with brickwork on all four sides to form
a shelf on which rests a wooden roof of cross beams and planks. In graves where the burial was
uncoflined the sides of the grave are fined with wooden planks; but this feature is absent where
the body lay in a coffin. Above the wooden roofing, the grave was filled with rubble up to ground
G
42
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
level and on this a low superstructure of pressed mud was built. These superstructures with
slightly battered sides and a rounded top measure about 2-25 by 1-70 metres with a height of
about O’12 metre.
The Boat Grave (Plates 44, 66, 67, and 68)
The boat grave is situated on the north side of the tomb in its own enclosure. The grave
consists of a shallow trench in which the boat was placed with bricks supporting its prow and
stern, and the cabin dismantled and laid flat on the deck. The trench was then filled with sand
covering the boat and shaped as a low elongated tumulus. This mound was then cased in brick¬
work in the general form of the boat it contained. For details of the construction see Plate 44.
Measurements: max. length 22-15 metres
max. width 3-40 „
max. depth of trench 1-10 „
max. height of brick superstructure
as found 0-60 metre
CHAPTER VII
THE DISCOVERY
«
On 4 October 1945 we were surprised by a sudden subsidence in the flat desert about 30 metres
north of my house, which left a crater approximately 18 metres in diameter with a depth of
about 5 metres below ground level. At the bottom of the crater parts of a brick wall were re¬
vealed and examination proved that this construction was of First Dynasty date. A rough
survey soon showed that this archaic structure was located directly above the rock-cut galleries
of dog burials of the Ptolemaic period which had been cut through the face of the escarpment
and it was obvious that a collapse of these subterranean tunnels had caused the subsidence.
However, as the order of our work was still some considerable distance to the north, no
investigation of the site was undertaken until the completion of the excavation of Tomb 3505
in March 1954. Clearance of the outside of the eastern enclosure wall of this tomb revealed part
of the panelled fa§ade of a big tomb of the middle First Dynasty. The position of this exposed
brickwork in relation to the crater pointed with certainty to the existence of a large tomb and
suggested that the crater was part of its substructure which had fallen because of the collapse
of the subterranean galleries cut below its floor. Consequently we commenced our work on
1 December 1954 without the usual laborious preliminary exploration.
By 10 December the general outline of the superstructure was revealed and two days later
the entrance stairway was located under the east fa§ade. While one gang of our workmen con¬
tinued the clearance of the superstructure and stairway, the main body of men started the
excavation of the superstructure on 18 December. This clearance progressed until 11 January
1955, when the final removal of the wooden floor of the burial chamber was started in order to
reveal completely the white plastered pavement of the original structure. Part of the north wall
and floor of the substructure had already been destroyed by the collapse of the subterranean
galleries below it nine years previously, and as the work progressed the danger of a further
subsidence of the whole floor became apparent with widening fissures at the base of the walls.
Consequently, with great reluctance we had to abandon a complete clearance of the first pave¬
ment and all further work in this dangerous area was closed down before sufficient could be
shown for a complete photographic record.
On 15 January the first subsidiary burials were discovered in the east corridor and three days
later the bows of the boat grave were uncovered beyond the north enclosure wall, beneath some
small Third Dynasty tombs (Plate 68 b). The clearance of the subsidiary graves and the boat
grave with its enclosure continued until 20 February 1955, by which time the whole area of
Tomb 3506 had been completely excavated and the work was closed down.
The Superstructure
The whole rubble core of the superstructure was removed, but nothing was found beyond a
group of broken clay jar sealings lying in the north-west corner of the structure. Three of these
sealings, Nos. 36, 37, and 38, bear the name of the noble Setka, while the others, Nos. 39, 40,
41, and 42, bear no recognizable name (see ‘Inscriptions’, p. 60). No pots were found with these
44
GREAT TOMBS OP THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
45
sealings and it is obvious that they were throw-outs when the structure was rebuilt to serve its
final function as a tomb. The clearance of the outside of the superstructure and the enclosure
wall yielded nothing beyond two groups of pottery, 4 of type D6, 1 of D 7, 4 of D 11, and 1
of R 1, from the outside floor level of the west enclosure wall near the entrance gate, and 1 of
B 8 and 1 of E 10 outside the east enclosure wall. A few scattered bulls’ horns were found in
the corridor which came almost certainly from clay bulls’ heads which originally rested on the
bench at the foot of the superstructure.
The Substructure
Level by level clearance of the filling of the substructure soon revealed rough retaining walls
built by tomb robbers who had entered the tomb from above. In the debris removed from above
the burial chamber great quantities of pottery fragments were recovered, of which the following
types and quantities could be identified: 136 of A 1, 36 of A 2, 57 of A 3, 2 of A 4, 3 of B 1,
1 of B 2, 2 of C 3, 1 of C 7, 2 of D 3, 2 of D 7, 1 of D 10, 5 of E 2, 5 of E 3, 7 of E 4, 6 of F 1,
2 of Jl, 2 of J3, 1 of J4, 1 of J5, 1 of K 1, 6 of K2, 13 of K 7, 8 ofKIO, 3 of L 6, and 2 of
M 1. These pots may well have been dragged up from the burial chamber, but it would appear
more likely that they came from the corridor magazines which surrounded the edge of the
substructure. The small magazines had been badly broken up and only one, 0, was found intact.
They appear to have contained nothing but pottery vessels for food and drink.
Magazine A
lof Al, 2 of A3, 1 of J3, 1 of J23.
Magazine B
5 of Al, 1 of A 2, 13 of A3.
Magazine G
4 of Al, 12 of A3.
Magazine D
1 of A 1, 1 of A 3.
Magazine 0
28 of D 6.
All the other gallery magazines were empty. When the brick flooring which had been built on
the original gallery pavement was removed, fragments of the following jar sealings were found
embedded in it: 1 of No. 11, 1 of No. 31, 1 of No. 32, 1 of No. 36, 1 of No. 39.
When cleared of the redeem, the floor of the burial chamber presented a confused mass of
scattered pottery, clay jar sealings, and broken stone vessels, the position of which had no
significance, so thorough had been the ravages of the tomb robbers (Plate 56). The foundations
of a large wooden structure were traced in the southern half of the room and it would appear
that this structure originally contained the burial. Its character cannot be ascertained, but it
rested directly on the wooden floor and was far too large for a coffin, measuring approximately
5-0 by 6-0 metres. However, the human remains of the burial were found at the north end of the
room, beyond the boundaries of this wooden structure; but the bones still partly articulated
showed signs of having been dragged away from their original position. The human remains are
of an elderly male and are almost certainly those of the owner of the tomb (Plate 61).
Apart from such scattered objects as bone arrowheads, copper tools, fragments of ivory inlay,
flin t implements, &c., the following stone vessels were identified: 2 of A 10, 1 of A 18, 1 of
A 26, 2 of B 7, 1 of C 1, 5 of C 2, 5 of C 4, 1 ot C 5, 1 of C 6, 2 of C 7, 3 of C 9, 7 of C 10, 2 of
G 18, 1 of I 7, 1 of L 7, 1 of Q 3, 1 of Q 7, 1 of S 1, 6 of S 2, 1 of S 4, 8 of S 5, 11 of S 6, 3 of
S 9, 11 of S 10, 325 of S 19, 4 of S 20, 4 of S 21, 15 of S 22, and 2 of T 14.
Of pottery vessels the following identifications are certain: 28 of A 1, 4 of A 2, 10 of A 3,
6ofC2, 7 of D 2, 2 of D10, 2 of El, 4 of E 2,3 of E 3,2 of E 4, 15 of FI, 3ofGl, 1 of G 2,
1 of G 3, 7 of G 10, 24 of G 12, 1 of G 14, 1 of G 15, 17 of G 16, 1 of J 3.
But the most important remains found in the burial chamber were the jar sealings which
represent the biggest single haul of inscribed material yet found in the First Dynasty tombs at
Sakkara. Of these there were: 18 of No. 5, 3 of No. 6, 8 of No. 7, 2 of No. 8, 2 of No. 9, 2 of
No. 10, 5 of No. 12, 3 of No. 13, 17 of No. 14, 1 of No. 15, 7 of No. 16, 29 of No. 17, 30 of
No. 21, 4 of No. 22, 23 of No. 23, 8 of No. 24, 5 of No. 27,1 of No. 28, 6 of No. 29, 1 of No. 30,
2 of No. 33, 2 of No. 34, 1 of No. 44, 1 of No. 45, 1 of No. 48 (see ‘Inscriptions’).
Although the recesses which surround the burial chamber had been disturbed, they still con¬
tained pottery, jar sealings, and other objects (Plates 57 and 58).
Recess A
1 flint knife of type 7 and 3 flint knives of type 9.
Pottery vessels: 7 of A 1, 3 of A 2, 10 of A 3, 1 of C 2, 1 of D 7, 1 of F 3.
Jar sealings: 3 of No. 5, 4 of No. 7, 1 of No. 12, 4 of No. 16, 1 of No. 19, 1 of No. 22, 1 of
No. 24, 1 of No. 27, 3 of No. 29, 1 of No. 30, 1 of No. 43.
Recess B
1 flint knife of type 7 and a sickle-blade of type 10.
Pottery vessels: 5 of A 1, 12 of A 2, 6 of A 3, 3 of E 3, 1 of F 1, 1 of K 7.
Jar sealings: 3 of No. 1, 2 of No. 2, 2 of No. 5, 5 of No. 7,1 of No. 8, 4 of No. 16, 3 of No. 18,
1 of No. 25, 2 of No. 29, 1 of No. 35.
Recess C
Pottery vessels: 1 of A 1, 1 of A 2, 5 of A 3, 3 of A 4, 3 of J 7, 2 of K 7.
Jar sealings: 2 of No. 5, 1 of No. 12, 1 of No. 25.
Recess D
Pottery vessels: 3 of A 1, 1 of A 2, 4 of A 3.
Jar sealings: 1 of No. 5, 1 of No. 17, 1 of No. 20, 1 of No. 21, 1 of No. 32, 1 of No. 33, 1
of No. 47.
Recess E
Pottery vessels: 1 of A 1, 1 of A 2, 3 of A 3, 1 of E 2, 1 of J 1, 1 of K 2.
Recess F
Flint knife of type 9. 1
Pottery vessels: 1 of A 1, 2 of A 2.
46
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Recess 0
Flint knife of type 8.
Pottery vessels: 2 of A 2, 1 of B 2, 1 of C 2, 2 of F 1.
Jar sealings: 1 of No. 5, 1 of No. 7, 1 of No. 22, 1 of No. 24, 1 of No. 25. Fragments of the
sealings were found embedded in the wall of the recess; all bore traces of the serekh of Udimu.
Recess H
Pottery vessels: 1 of A 2, 7 of A 3.
Recess I
Pottery vessels: 1 of A 3, 5 of A 4, 1 of C 2, 6 of F 1.
Recess J
Empty.
Recess K
Destroyed.
The entrance stairway to the tomb was found intact with no sign of any disturbance since
it was closed after the burial. The white plastered steps were found in perfect condition and the
sand filling above them was entirely clean. In fact, the entrance to the stairway was so well
concealed below the pavement of the east corridor that its existence and direction were first
noted from the stone-built gate found in the burial chamber. A crudely traced inscription which
we found on the lintel of the stone gate is discussed on page 60. There can be little doubt that
it is contemporary with the structure and may well have been executed before the lintel was
lifted into position.
Clear ing in front of the wooden door at the foot of the stairway, we uncovered a group of
pottery vessels consisting of 16 of B 9, 1 of C 2, 1 of D 3, 4 of K 7, 1 of L 8, and a new type
of foreign ware jug (see type G 13). This pottery deposit was entirely undisturbed (Plate 53 a).
At the foot of the door, resting directly on the stone pavement, was a rectangular copper plate,
and nearby a copper adze-blade (see Cat. Nos. 1 and 2).
Subsidiary Burials
1. Situation: east corridor (Plate 71 a and b).
Construction: rectangular pit with a brick-built shelf supporting a wooden roof of cross
planks. The filling above the roof consisted of rubble surmounted by a rectangular super¬
structure with a rounded top made of packed sun-dried clay. Below the roofing the pit
was walled and floored with wooden planks.
Burial: undisturbed; male adult, semi-contracted on the left side, head north. Traces of
linen wrapping.
Contents in situ: i. Jar of type F 1.
ii. Jar of type C 7.
iii. Jar of type F 1.
iv. Jar of type B 4.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
47
in filling: v. Fragment of a clay sealing No. 4 (see ‘Inscriptions’).
vi. Fragments of large jar of type A 1.
vii. Fragments of large jar of type A 4.
2. Situation: east corridor (Plate 71 c and d).'
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-built shelf and lining which supports a roof of
wooden cross beams and planks. Rubble filling above the wooden roof. Below the roofing
the pit was walled and floored with wooden planking.
Burial: undisturbed; male adult, semi-contracted on left side, head north. Traces of linen
wrapping.
Contents in situ : i, ii. Two jars of type F 1.
iii. Jar of type C 7.
in filling: iv. Fragments of type A 1.
v. Fragments of type A 3.
3. Situation: east corridor (Plate 72 a).
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-built shelf supporting a wooden roof of cross
planks. Rubble filling above the roof covered by a rectangular superstructure of sun-
dried clay. Walls and floor lined with wood.
Burial: undisturbed; young female adult, on back with legs apart and flexed, head north.
Contents in grave: i. Jar of type F 1.
ii. Jar of type C 7.
iii. Jar of type F 1.
in filling: iv. Jar of type C 7.
v. Jar of type A 3.
vi. Bowl of type J 1.
vii. Fragments of a shallow bowl of schist.
viii. Fragments of a jar sealing bearing the name of Hemaka (see ‘In¬
scriptions’, No. 23).
4. Situation: east corridor (Plate 72 c).
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-built shelf supporting a wooden roof of cross
planks. Walls and floor lined with wood.
Burial: disturbed; female adult, contracted on left side, head north. Traces of linen wrap¬
ping.
Contents in filling: i. Large jar of type A 1.
ii. Jar of type C 4.
iii. Jar of type C 7.
iv. Jar of type D 7 with lid of type W 2.
v. Jar of type E 2.
vi. Two jars of type F 1.
vii. Oval dish of type K 7.
48
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
5. Situation: north corridor (Plate 72 d).
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-supported shelf on which was a wooden roof of
cross planks. The sides of the grave are faced with mud plaster.
Burial: undisturbed; child, flexed on left side with head west. Remains of wooden coffin.
Contents: i. Jar of type C 6.
ii. Jar of type F 1.
iii. Jar of type C 4.
iv, v. Two jars of type F 1.
vi. Jar lid of type W 2.
vii. Jar of type D 7.
6. Situation: north corridor.
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-supported shelf to support wooden roof. Walls of
grave faced with mud plaster.
Burial: plundered. Scattered bones of young adult, head west. Remains of wooden coffin.
Contents: i, ii. Two jars of type F 1.
iii. Large jar of type A 1.
iv. Jar of type D 7.
v. Jar lid of type W 2.
vi. Large jar of type A 1.
7. Situation: north corridor.
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-supported shelf to support wooden roof. Walls of
grave faced with mud plaster.
Burial: plundered. Scattered bones of male adult.
Contents: i. Jar lid of type W 2.
ii. Jar of type FI.
iii. Fragments of large jar of type A 1.
8. Situation: east corridor.
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-built shelf supporting a wooden roof. Walls of
grave faced with wooden planks.
Burial: plundered. Scattered bones of male adult.
Contents: i. Jar of type F 1.
ii. Jar of type C 7.
iii. Jar of type F 1.
iv. Jar of type D 7 with lid of type W 2.
9. Situation: east corridor.
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-built shelf supporting a roof of cross beams and
planks. Walls of grave faced with wooden planks.
Burial: plundered. Scattered hones of adult.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
49
Contents: i. Jar of type B 4.
ii. Jar of type F 1.
iii. Jar of type C 7.
iv. Fragments of large jar of type B 4.
v. Fragments of large jar of*type A 3.
10. Situation: east corridor.
Construction: rectangular pit with brick-built shelf supporting a roof of cross beams and
planks. Walls of grave faced with wooden planks.
Burial: plundered. Scattered hones of male adult.
Contents: i. Jar of type C 7.
ii, iii. Two jars of type FI.
iv. Jar of type B 4.
v. Fragments of large jar of type A 1.
The Funerary Boat
The boat, constructional details of which are given on Plate 44, had two holds on each side
of the cabin-planks which had been laid flat on the deck. Both holds contained a mass of pottery
vessels (Plate 66).
Fore-hold
5 of A 1, 3 of A3, 1 of C 2, 15 of D 6, 2 of D 7, 3 of D 11, 2 of F 1, 1 of J 1, 6 of R 1.
Stern-hold
3 of Al, 3 of D6, 2 of D 11, 1 of E 1, 1 of E 3, 1 of J 1, 1 of J 4.
Both at the prow and stern the boat was held on an even keel with a packing of bricks, and
below the bricks at the stern end we found two reed baskets (Cat. Nos. 42 and 43), probably
left there by the ancient workers.
H
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
51
CHAPTER VIII
THE CONTENTS OF THE TOMB
Miscellaneous Objects
1. Rectangular copper plate. Size 13 by 11 by 2 cm. This object, badly oxidized, may have
been an ingot, particularly as it was found with a copper adze blade at the foot of the
wooden door blocking the entrance to the burial chamber.
2. Copper adze blade. Size 13-2 cm. long. From the entrance to the burial chamber.
3. Four pieces of carved ivory inlay found with fragments of copper inlay. From the floor of
the burial chamber.
4. Copper casing of a wooden furniture terminal. Size 11*4 cm. wide and 4*2 cm. high. From
the floor of the burial chamber.
5. Copper casing of a wooden furniture terminal. Size 10-7 cm. wide and 4-2 cm. high. From
the floor of the burial chamber.
6. Large copper knife blade. Size 38*5 cm. long. From the floor of the burial chamber.
7. Three copper bodkins. Size 10*7 cm. long. Found in a group in the centre of the floor of the
burial chamber.
8. Copper chisel. Size 13-3 cm. long. From the centre of the floor of the burial chamber.
9. Copper bodkin. Size 10*4 cm. long. From the burial chamber.
10. Fragment of a copper bodkin. From the floor of the burial chamber.
11. Fragments of a copper chisel. From the burial chamber.
12. Copper chisel. Size 10-0 cm. long. From the burial chamber.
13. Fragment of a copper furniture terminal. From the centre of the floor of the burial chamber.
14. Fragment of a copper arrowhead. From the burial chamber.
15. Five bone arrowheads with points painted red. Size 13’5 cm. long. From the burial chamber.
16. Fragments of three bone arrowheads. From the burial chamber.
17. Two bone arrowheads with red painted points. Size 8*8 cm. long. From the burial chamber.
18. Fragments of three bone arrowheads. From the burial chamber.
19. Bone arrowheads with red painted point. Size 15-0 cm. From the burial chamber.
20-29. Fragments of fifteen bone arrowheads. From the burial chamber.
30. Bone arrowhead with red painted point. Size 14-5 cm. From the burial chamber.
31-34. Six fragments of ivory furniture inlay. From the burial chamber.
35. Three gaming tables of carnelian, marble, and yellow limestone. Sizes 0*8, 0-8, and 0-75 cm.
From the burial chamber.
36. Gaming marble of limestone. Size 1*2 cm. From the burial chamber.
37. Shell bracelet. Size: diameter 6*4 cm. From the burial chamber.
38. Fragment of a shell bracelet. Size: diameter 6-5 cm. From the burial chamber.
41. Two fragments of gold foil. From the burial chamber.
42. Ovoid basket of bound reeds. Size 61-0 cm. long and 29-0 cm. wide. Found under the stem
of the wooden funerary boat. .
43. Rectangular basket of plaited reeds. Size 63-0 cm. long and 17-0 cm. wide. From the burial
chamber.
Flint Implements
(Plate 125)
Type 1. Bifacial knife with backward-curving cutting edge and cut-out handle.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type 2. Bifacial knife with backward-curving cutting edge and cut-out handle.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type 7. Unifacial blade with pointed tip.
Total number: 37.
Provenance : 33 from the burial chamber; 1 from recess A; 1 from recess B; 2 from the
filling of the boat grave.
Type 8. Unifacial curved blade with pointed tip.
Total number: 15.
Provenance: 12 from floor of burial chamber; 1 from recess G; 1 from the filling of the
gallery stairway; 1 from the boat grave.
Type 9. Unifacial rectangular scraper with rounded cutting edges.
Total number: 26. . ..
Provenance: 19 from the floor of the burial chamber; 3 from recess A; 1 from recess F;
1 from the main stairway; 2 from the boat grave.
Type 10. Unifacial sickle-blades with serrated cutting edge.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 2 from the burial chamber; 1 from recess B; 1 from the filling of the main
stairway.
Pottery
(Plates 73 to 75)
Type A 1. Tall jar.
Total number: 206. \
Provenance: 136 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 28 from the floor of the
burial chamber; 18 from the recesses in the burial chamber; 11 from the gallery
magazines; 1 from sub-burial 2; 1 from sub-burial 4; 1 from sub-burial 6; 1 from
sub-burial 7; 1 from sub-burial 10; 8 from the funerary boat.
52 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type A 2. Tall jar.
Total number: 64.
Provenance: 36 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 4 from the floor of the burial
chamber; 23 from the recesses in the burial chamber; 1 from the gallery magazines.
Type A 3. Tall jar.
Total number: 138.
Provenance: 57 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 10 from the floor of the burial
chamber; 1 from the gallery stairway; 36 from the recesses in the burial chamber;
27 from the gallery magazines; 1 from sub-burial 1; 1 from sub-burial 3; 1 from
sub-burial 9; 3 from the funerary boat.
Type A 4. Tall jar.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: 2 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 8 from the recesses in the
burial chamber; 1 from sub-burial 1.
Type B 1. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: all from the redeem of the burial chamber.
Type B 2. Jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from the recesses of the
burial chamber.
Type B 4. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 1 from sub-burial 1; 1 from sub-burial 9; 1 from sub-burial 10.
Type B 8. Jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 1 from outside the east enclosure wall; 3 from the redeem of the burial
chamber.
Type B 9. Jar.
Total number: 16.
Provenance: all from the main entrance stairway.
Type C 2. Jar.
Total number: 17.
Provenance: 1 from the entrance stairway; 6 from the redeem of the burial chamber;
6 from the floor of the burial chamber; 3 from the recesses of the burial chamber;
1 from the funerary boat.
Type C 3. Jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: from the redeem of the burial chamber.
Type C 4. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 1 from the east corridor; 1 from sub-burial 4; 1 from sub-burial 5.
GREAT TOMBS. OF THE FIRST DYNASTY 53
Type C 6. Jar.
Total number : 1.
Provenance: from sub-burial 5.
Type C 7. Jar.
Total number: 10.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from sub-burial 1; 1 from
sub-burial 2; 2 from sub-burial 3; 1 from sub-burial 4; 1 from sub-burial 7; 1 from
sub-burial 8; 1 from sub-burial 9; 1 from sub-burial 10.
Type D 2. Jar.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: all from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type D 3. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance : 2 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from the stairway entrance.
Type D 6. Jar.
Total number: 46.
Provenance: 28 from the gallery magazines; 4 from outside the west enclosure wall;
18 from the funerary boat.
Type D 7. Jar.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: 2 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from the recesses in the
burial chamber; 1 from outside the west enclosure wall; 1 from sub-burial 4; 1 from
sub-burial 6; 1 from sub-burial 8 ; 2 from the funerary boat.
Type D 10. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 2 from the floor of the burial
chamber.
Type Dll. Jar.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: 4 from outside west enclosure wall; 5 from the funerary boat.
Type E 1. Jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 2 from the floor of the burial chamber; 1 from the funerary boat.
Type E 2. Jar.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: 5 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 4 from the floor of the burial
chamber; 1 from the recesses of the burial chamber; 1 from sub-burial 4.
Type E 3. Jar.
Total number: 12.
Provenance: 5 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 3 from the floor of the burial
chamber; 3 from the recesses in the burial chamber; 1 from the funerary boat.
54 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type E 4. Jar.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: 7 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 2 from the floor of the burial
chamber.
Type E 10. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from outside the east enclosure wall.
Type P 1. Jar.
Total number: 51.
Provenance: 6 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 15 from the floor of the burial
chamber; 2 from the gallery stairway; 8 from the recesses in the burial chamber;
2 from sub-burial 1; 2 from sub-burial 2; 2 from sub-burial 3; 1 from sub-burial 4;
2 from sub-burial 5; 2 from sub-burial 6; 1 from sub-burial 7; 2 from sub-burial 8;
1 from sub-burial 9; 2 from sub-burial 10; 2 from the funerary boat.
Type F 3. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the recesses of the burial chamber.
Type G 1. Flagon.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: all from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 2. Flagon.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 3. Flagon.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 10. Flagon.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: all from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 12. Flagon.
Total number: 24.
Provenance: all from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 13. Flagon.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the main stairway.
Type G 14. Flagon.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 15. Flagon.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY 55
Type G 16. Flagon.
Total number : 17.
Provenance: 16 from the floor of the burial chamber; 1 from sub-burial 3.
Type J 1. Bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 2 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 2 from the funerary boat.
Type J 2. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the recesses of the burial chamber.
Type J 3. Bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 2 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from the floor of the burial
chamber; 1 from the gallery magazine.
Type J 4. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from the funerary boat.
Type J 5. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the redeem of the burial chamber.
Type J 7. Bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: all from the recesses in the burial chamber.
Type J 18. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the gallery magazine.
Type K 1. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: 1 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from the gallery stairway.
Type K 2. Bowl.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: 6 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 1 from the recesses of the
burial chamber.
Type K 7. Bowl.
Total number: 16.
Provenance: 13 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 3 from the recesses of the
burial chamber.
Type K 10. Bowl.
Total number: 8.
Provenance: 6 from the redeem of the burial chamber; 2 from the recesses of the
burial chamber.
56
GREAT TOMBS OP THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type L 6. Bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: all from the redeem of the burial chamber.
Type L 8. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: 1 from the entrance stairway; 1 from the redeem of the burial chamber,
Type M 1. Jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: both from the redeem of the burial chamber.
Type R 1. Rough bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: outside the west enclosure wall.
Examples of pot-marks are shown on Plate 76.
Stone Vessels
(Plate 77)
Type A 10. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 21-8 cm.; max. width 15-3 cm.
min. height 17'0 cm.; min. width 10-5 cm.
Type A 18. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 16-0 cm.; max. width 10-0 cm.
Type A 26. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 48-0 cm.; max. width 17-5 cm.
Type B 7. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 36-0 cm.; max. width 12-0 cm.
min. height 34-5 cm.; min. width 11*1 cm.
Type C 1. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 40 cm.; max. width approx. 28 cm.
Type C 2. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 5.
*
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 36-0 cm.; max. width approx. 18-0 cm.
min. height approx. 25-0 cm.; min. width approx. 13-0 cm.
Type C 4. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 30-0 cm.; max. width approx. 14-0 cm.
min. height approx. 20-0 cm.; min. width approx. 11*0 cm.
Type C 5. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: height 40-0 cm.; width 21-0 cm.
Type C 6. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: height 20-0 cm.; width 14-0 cm.
Type C 7. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 49-5 cm.; max. width 15-4 cm.
min. height 25-0 cm.; min. width 11-0 cm.
Type C 9. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 44-5 cm.; max. width 202 cm.
min. height 32-6 cm.; min. width 14-1 cm.
Type C 10. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 24 0 cm.; max. width 12-0 cm.
min. height 20-9 cm.; min. width 11*7 cm.
58 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type G 18. Shouldered jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: dolomite; alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 20-0 cm.; max. width 17-0 cm.
min. height 18-0 cm.; min. width 14-0 cm.
Type I 7. Bowl with concave sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: basalt.
Dimensions: max. height 5*5 cm.; max. width 14-5 cm.
Type L 7. Deep bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 13-5 cm.; max. width 23*0 cm.
Type Q 3. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 3-5 cm.; max. width 11-0 cm.
Type Q 7. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 2-0 cm.; max. width 14-0 cm.
Type S 1. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 5-0 cm.; max. width 28-0 cm.
Type S 2. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: schist.
Dimensions: max. height 6-5 cm.; max. width 36-5 cm.
min. height 4-5 cm.; min. width 15-7 cm.
Type S 4. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: schist.
Dimensions: max. height 5T cm.; max. width 32-8 cm.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
59
Type S 5. Bowl.
Total number: 8.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 3 of alabaster; 2 of breccia; 2 of dolomite; 1 of volcanic ash.
Dimensions: max. height 10-2 cm.'; max. width 18-4 cm.
min. height 6-8 cm.; min. width 13-9 cm.
Type S 6. Bowl.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 7 alabaster; 4 volcanic ash.
Dimensions: max. height 12-0 cm.; max. width 32-0 cm.
min. height 8-5 cm.; min. width 23-0 cm.
Type S 9. Bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 11-0 cm.; max. width 26-0 cm.
min. height 7-0 cm.; min. width 18-0 cm.
Type S 10. Bowl.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 7 schist; 1 dolomite; 1 volcanic ash; 1 pink marble.
Dimensions: max. height 6-3 cm.; max. width 29-5 cm.
min. height 6-0 cm.; min. width 19*6 cm.
Type S 19. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 325.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 108 alabaster; 217 schist.
Dimensions: max. height 6-0 cm.; max. width 50-2 cm.
min. height 2-0 cm.; min. width 18-0 cm.
Type S 20. Bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 2 alabaster; 1 schist; 1 volcanic ash.
Dimensions: max. height 9-0 cm.; max. width 30-0 cm.
min. height 6-4 cm.; min. width 23-7 cm.
Type S 21. Bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: schist.
Dimensions: max. height 7-4 cm.; max. width 48-0 cm.
min. height 6-5 cm.; min. width 21-0 cm.
60
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
61
Type S 22. Bowl.
Total number: 15.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: schist.
Dimensions: max. height 7-0 cm.; max. width 49-0 cm.
min. height 5-0 cm.; min. width 29-0 cm.
Type T 14. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 7-5 cm.; max. width 14-4 cm.
min. height 4-5 cm.; min. width 12-0 cm.
The Inscribed Material
(Plates 78 to 84)
The inscriptions found in Tomb 3506 can be divided into the following categories:
A. Inscription on the lintel of the door leading to the burial chamber.
B. Ink inscriptions.
C. Inscriptions scratched on stone vessels.
D. Mud seal-impressions.
A. Inscription on the Lintel of the Door leading to the Burial Chamber
1- (Fig. 1, Plate 83.) The text consists of titles iry-pc-t nSw d4 hs-ty ‘prince (of ?)
the King of Upper Egypt, himself (?), the first(?)’. This is the earliest occurrence of the
title iry-pc-t. It occurs also on the stela of Merka of the reign of King Ka’a (Tomb 3505).
See for this title Gardiner, Onomastica, I, pp. 14* ff., and Helck, Untersuchungen zu den
Beamtentiteln, pp. 55 ff. D4 probably for ds-f ‘himself’, see Wdrterbuch, V, p. 607, and on a
stela of the time of Zer in Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pis. 26 and 28,52: enh-n-t ds ‘ Ankhneith
herself (?) . For the title hi-ty cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 5, 3, where it possibly occurs
as a title of Queen Merneith. Or is it a spelling of h}-ty-c ‘prince’, which title often goes
with the title iry-pc-t and is known from the First Dynasty, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs I
PI. 22, 32 ?
B. Ink Inscriptions (Plate 83)
2. (Fig. 2.) Inscription on an alabaster bowl, type S 6 (stone vessel. Cat. No. 357). The inscrip¬
tion reads km}, of uncertain meaning.
3. (Fig. 3.) Inscription on a fragment of a pottery vessel of type E, from the filling above the
substructure. The inscription reads ^ it ‘barley’.
C. Inscriptions scratched on Stone Vessels (Plate 83)
4. (Fig. 4.) Inscription scratched on a schist bowl, type S 10 (stone vessel. Cat. No. 356). The
sign to the right occurs also on 9. See for a similar sign Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 5, 13;
PI. 22, 181; PI. 27, 141; ibid. I, PI. 17, 30(?), reading H 4t (? cf. Wdrterbuch, IV, p. 349, 2).
The sign to the left above could be part of LI.
5. (Fig. 5.) Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist vessel, from the burial chamber,
floor level. The text consists of x, the emblem of Neith, nb and part of a third sign
(the name of a queen ?); to the right ®, tfie title of a queen, see Tomb 3507, inscription B 1.
6. (Fig. 6.) Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist vessel, from the burial chamber,
floor level. Two signs x and ffi] remain of the inscription, which was probably the same as 5.
7. (Fig. 7.) Inscription on a fragment of a schist bowl, type S 1 (stone vessel, Cat. No. 358).
It consists of the double basket nb-wy * the two lords ’, see Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 108,
no. 1, and three grains of corn(?), see B 3 and C 10, where the same inscription occurs,
reading it nb-wy ‘grain of the two lords’(?), cf. Petrie, Abydos, I, PI. 12,15, and also Petrie,
Royal Tombs, II, PI. 7, 13(?).
8. (Fig. 8.) Inscription scratched on a schist bowl, type S 4 (stone vessel, Cat. No. 37). It
consists of the channel = mr (or garden pool =>$?), a “ and a sign of uncertain reading
(cf. C 4 ?).
9. (Fig. 9.) Inscription scratched on a schist bowl, type S 2 (stone vessel, Cat. No. 359). It
consists of the same sign as in C 4, and the 1 twi-sceptre.
10. (Fig. 10.) Inscription scratched on a schist bowl, type T 22 (stone vessel. Cat. No. 3). The
text is the same as that of C 7.
11. (Fig. 11.) Inscription scratched on a fragment of a schist vessel, from the burial chamber,
floor level. Part of a sign of uncertain reading (cf. Tomb 3505, inscription B 3 ?).
12. (Fig. 12.) Inscription scratched on the bottom of a schist bowl, type S 2 (stone vessel, Cat.
No. 360). The inscription consists of a figure of Anubis.
D. Mud Seal-impressions (Plates 78 to 82)
Tomb 3506 was rich in sealings, the total number being 186, with 50 different seal-impressions,
many of which were already known from Abydos, Sakkara, and Abou-Roash. A few sealings
have the serekh of King Zer. They all came from magazine B of the substructure. Other sealings
have the serekh of King Den, to whose reign this tomb belongs. In connexion with King Den
the names of several officials occur, who were already known from other tombs: Hemaka
(21-25, 50 ?), Ankhka (16,26-32), and Medjedka (33-35). They bear partly even the same titles.
Apart from these an official Setka (36-39) appears, and on 46 the name Kanj.
The types of sealings are the following (see Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 19):
Type 1 a: dome-shaped and composed of yellowish coloured clay.
Type 16: dome-shaped but with a flattened top and composed of yellowish coloured clay.
Type lc: dome-shaped, but smaller than type la and composed of grey-black clay.
Type Id: very small dome-shaped sealings composed of grey-black clay, found on pottery
vessels of Syrian-Palestianian origin (type G). 1
Type 2: cone-shaped and composed of a yellowish coloured clay.
Sealings of types la and 2 are frequently marked with a blunt instrument, a stick, or with the
1 It is interesting that the seal-impression on one of these sealings has the serekh of King Den.
62
GREAT TOMBS OP THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
63
finger. There are 35 different markings (Plate 84). A spiral line applied with the finger is found
round the top of almost all the sealings of type 2. Sealings of type 2 often have inner seal-
impressions: over the first sealing with seal-impressions a second layer of clay was applied;
sometimes seal-impressions occur again on the second surface, but mostly this was only marked
in the way described above.
Type 3: flat-topped sealings, composed of grey-black clay.
Type 4: bag-sealings, composed of yellowish coloured clay.
Type 5: small round or oval cord-sealings, composed of grey-black clay.
In the following list the types of sealing are shown, their provenance, the seal-impressions
occurring on them, the markings, and a few remarks concerning the sealing or seal-impression.
Gat .
Type
Provenance
Seal-impressions
Markings
Remarks
1
2
Central filling
16
m #
Inner sealing
2
2
Id.
7, 29
28
3
2
East corridor
34
•.
Fragment
4
3
Id.
46
5
2
Central filling
5, 28
..
6
2 •
Recess A, substr.
5, 22
24
7
2
Staircase, against entrance
7, 16, 29
25
8
2
Recess A, substr.
uninscribed
1
9
la
Id.
Id.
..
t
10
4
Filling pit, lower level
5
11
2
Recess A, substr.
• 7, 16, 30
12
la
Id.
16
.,
Fragment
13
4
Filling pit, lower level
5
# #
14
2
Id.
21
..
Fragment
15
la
Id.
16
14
16
4
Recess C, substr.
5
17
4
id.
5
18
4
Id.
12
19
2
Recess A, substr.
7, 29
,,
Inner sealing
20
2
Filling pit, lower level
7, 16, 29
,,
21
2
Id.
7, 27
,.
Inner sealing
22
2
Id.
4
23
2
Id.
6
8, 18
24
2
Id.
6, 34
10, 22
25
2
Recess G, substr.
5, 24
8
26
2
Recess A, substr.
12, 29
, .
Inner sealing
27
2
Id.
27
28
2
Id.
7
. .
Fragment
29
2
Id.
19
4 . .
Fragment
30
4
Id.
16
31
2
Id.
7, 29
,
Inner sealing
32
4
Id.
16
33
2
Filling pit, lower level
5, 24
8
34
2
Id.
15, 22
10, 25
f From an examination of this sealing it appeared that a palm-fibre matting was placed over the mouth of the jar before
the lid was applied and over it the mud sealing.
Cat.
Type
Provenance
Seal-impressions
Markings
Remarks
35
2
Id.
17, 21
5
36
2
Id.
17, 21
5, 37
, .
37
2
Id.
12, 33
1
38
2
Recess G, substr.
15, 22
13, 22
# *
39
2
Filling pit, lower level
23
• .
Fragments
40
2
Floor pit L 2
14, 23
. .
,,
41
2
Id. J3
21
6, 37
*.
42
2
Id. K 1
14, 23
33
,.
43
2
Id. L2
13, 23
33
.,
44
2
Id. L2
14, 23
..
Fragment
45
2
Id. L2
17, 21
23
.,
46
2
Id. L2
17, 21
19, 37
,.
47
2
Id. L3
14, 23
4, 33
,,
48
2
Id. J3
14, 23
4, 35
,,
49
2
Id. E5
uninscribed
5
,.
50
2
Id. J3
17, 21
15
,.
51
2
Id. J3
14, 23
..
..
52
2
Id. L2
5, 24
34
., '
53
2
Id. J3
17, 21
5
.,
54
2
Filling pit, lower level
17, 21
2, 34
..
55
2
Id.
17, 21
26
,.
56
2
id.
13, 23
5
..
57
2
Recess B, substr.
1,2
..
..
58
la
Id.
18
..
. .
59
la
Id.
7
..
..
60
2
Id.
5, 16, 26
..
Inner sealing
61
2
Id.
1
..
..
62
16
Id.
16
..
..
63
la
Id.
18
..
,.
64
la
Id.
18
..
..
65
2
Id.
8
5, 30
Inner sealing
66
2
Id.
35
. .
..
67
2
Id.
1,2
. .
..
68
2
Floor pit H 1
17, 21
5
..
69
2*
Id.
12, 27
..
Inner sealing
70
2
Id. J3
17, 21
3, 22
. .
71
2
Id.
23
..
Fragment
72
2
Id. 11
14, 23
4
..
73
2
Id. L2
14, 23
4
. •
74
2
Id. I 2
10, 16, 27
26
Inner sealing. Traces
of outer sealing:
Ankhka
75
2
Floor pit L 2
17,21
6
.,
76
2
Id. L3
5, 24
8
..
77
2
Id. L2
17,21
34
..
78
2
Id. J5
17, 21
15
..
79
2
Id. 12
14, 23
4, 35
.,
80
2
Id. J3
17, 21
34
..
81
2
Id. J4
5, 24
22
..
64
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
65
Cat .
Type
Provenance
Seal-impressions
Markings
Remarks
Cat.
Type
Provenance
S eal-impressions
Markings
Remarks
82
2
Floor pit J 4
6, 34
13, 22
127
4
Id.
5
,.
83
2
Id. L2
13, 23
6
128
4
Id. J4
5
, ,
84
2
Id. K1
5, 24
, #
129
4
Id.
5
.,
85
2
Id. K 1
17, 21
17
130
2
Id.
5
Fragment
86
2
Id. K1
17, 21
20
131
4
Id. J4
5
m #
87
2
Id. J2
17, 21
6
132
4
Id. J3
5
# 9
88
2
Id. J3
17, 21
26
133
4
Id. L3
5
, ,
89
2
Id. J2
24
. .
134
2
Id.
17
Fragment
90
2
Id. L3
14, 23
3, 36
135
4
Id.
5
Fragment
91
2
Id. H3
14, 23
4, 35
136
2
Id.
16
Fragment
92
2
Id.
14, 23
36
137
4
Id.
12
Fragment
93
2
Id. L 1
17, 21
2,35
138
2
Id.
8, 29
Inner sealing
94
2
Id. J3
21
21, 33
139
2
Id.
7
,.
95
2
Id. H3
17,21
11
140
2
Id.
8, 30
Inner sealing
96
2
Id. L 1
17, 21
6
141
2
Id.
9
Fragment
97
2
Id. K I
5, 24
7
142
la
Id.
48
..
Fragment
98
2
Id. G2
7, 29
11
143
2
Id. K 1
9, 22
8, 27
,,
99
2
Id.
5, 23
..
Fragment
144
2
Id.
14, 23
..
100
2
Id.
17, 21
10, 22
145
lb
Recess B, substr.
7, 29
16, 29
,.
101
2
Id.
7 } 27
# #
Fragment
146
2
Recess A, substr.
5, 24
,,
102
2
Id. J3
5, 22
7
147
2
Recess B, substr.
7, 16
.,
103
2
Id. H3
5, 33
12
148
2
Recess D, substr.
5, 33
12, 26
,,
104
2
Id. J2
17, 21
5, 35
149
2
Id.
17, 21
15
105
2
Id. E5
17, 21
5
150
2
Embedded in wall Recess G, substr.
7, 29
9
,,
106
2
Id. L2
14, 23
4, 34
151
2
Recess B, substr.
7, 16
,.
107
2
Id. J2
17, 21
5, 37
152
2
Recess A, substr.
16
Fragment
108
2
Id. 12
14, 23
1
153
2
Floor pit
10
Fragment
109
2
Id. 13
14, 23
35
154
4
Under 1st staircase
7
..
110
2
Id. J3
17, 21
35
155
Id
Id.
3
..
111
2
Id. J2
14, 23
4, 35
156
Id
Floor pit F 4
45
..
112
2
Id. G5
27
28
157
2
Subsid. burial 10
23
.,
113
2
Id. L3
17, 21
19, 37
158
4
Behind wall Recess A, substr.
5
..
114
2
Id.
7, 16, 29
31
159
5
Id.
43
..
115
2
Id. 13
5, 24
8
160
4
Behind wall, near 1st staircase
50
Fragment
116
2
Id. L2
17,21
9, 22
161
3
Recess D, superstr.
20, 47
..
117
2
Id. L2
5, 22
13
162
3
Id.
32
. .
118
2
Id. G5
7, 16, 29
32
163
2
In filling 2nd staircase
49
Fragment
119
2
Embedded in wall Recess G, substr.
, ,
9, 26
Traces of serekh of
164
3
Id.
• .
Traces of inscription
Udimu
165
5
Recess C, substr.
25
Ball, diam. 1*3 cm.
120
2
Recess B, substr.
7, 29
8, 28
29 on inner sealing
166
lc
North part of superstr.
36
• .
121
2
Embedded in wall Recess G, substr.
, ,
8
Traces of serekh of
167
lc
Id.
38
..
Udimu on inner and
168
lc
id.
36
•.
outer sealing
169
lc
Id.
38
Fragment
122
2
Id.
, ,
10, 24
Traces of serekh of
170
lc
Id.
37
•.
Udimu
171
lc
Id.
38
•.
123
2
Recess B, substr.
uninscribed
15
,,
172
lc
Id.
36
Fragment
124
4
Floor pit J 4
5
. ,
Fragment
173
lc
Id.
37
..
125
4
Id. J3
12
9 9
174
lc
Id.
37
..
126
4
Id.
12
. .
Fragment
175
lc
Id.
37
* •
• •
K
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
67
66
CJat,
Type
Provenance
Seal-impressions
Markings
Remarks
176
1 c
North part of superstr.
39
..
..
177
lc
Id.
42
Fragment
178
lc
Id.
40
..
179
lc
Id.
..
Traces of inscription
180
lc
Id.
41
•.
181
la
Floor pit G 5
44
•.
182
3
Under brickwork on ledge around pit
32
• •
183
3
Id.
32
Fragment
184
4
Id.
11, 31
•.
185
lc
Id.
39
•.
186
lc
Id.
36
1. (Plate 78.) 3 examples of type 2. In 2 cases the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 2.
Approximate dimensions: width 6-4 cm., circumference 9-4 cm.
Design: Two rows of serekhs of King Zer, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PL 15,105-7; Emery,
Great Tombs, II, pp. 168-9, nos. 1, 3.
2. (Plate 78.) 2 examples of type 2. In both cases the impression occurs on the same sealing
as an impression of 1.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-5 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: Two rows consisting of U with a stick or wand in one hand, in the top row over — a,
cf. Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 127, no. 56, p. 169, no. 5, alternating with 4 vertical bars.
Cf. for a similar or the same seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 16, 122.
3. (Plate 78.) 1 example of type Id.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: Two rows of serekhs of King Udimu. Cf. Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 119, nos. 19-20.
4. (Plate 78.) 1 example of type 2.
Approximate dimensions: width 5 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: Two rows of serekhs of King Udimu alternating with the f s'Ara-sceptre and the
place-name or vineyard 0^ e-=1 which also occurs on 13, 23, and 24. Cf. for a similar
seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 20, 156.
5. (Plate 78.) 17 examples of type 2, 14 examples of type 4. In 3 cases the impression occurs
on the same sealing as an impression of 22, in one case of 23, in 9 cases of 24, in one
case of 28, in 2 cases of 33, and in one case of 16 as well as 26.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-5 cm., circumference 14-5 cm.
Design: A row of six serekhs of King Udimu and the title(?) shm hry-ib ‘ruling in the
(king’s) heart’. The same title(?) also in 6, 7, 8, 9, 15; in 16, 29, and 30 (Ankhka); in
22 and 24 (Hemaka); in 33 and 34 (Medjedka). Impressions of similar design but with
variations of detail are 6, 7, and 8.
6. (Plate 78.) 3 examples of type 2. In 2 cases the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 34.
1 See Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln, p. 84, n. 40.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-4 cm., circumference 14-2 cm.
Design: Similar to that of 5. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal
Tombs, I, PL 24, 44.
7. (Plate 78.) 1 example of type 1 a, 1 examplg of type 4, 18 examples of type 2. In 2 cases the
impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression of 16, in 2 cases of 27, in 7 cases
of 29, in 4 cases of 16 as well as 29, in one case of 16 as well as 30.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-6 cm., circumference 13-5 cm.
Design: Similar to that of 5.
8. (Plate 78.) 3 examples of type 2. In one case the impression occurs on the same sealing
as an impression of 29, in one case of 30.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-9 cm., circumference 15 cm.
Design: Similar to that of 5.
9. (Plate 78.) 2 examples of type 2. In one case the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 22.
Approximate dimensions: width 5 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The serekh of King Udimu alternates with the title(?) shm hry-ib, see 5. Cf. for the
same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pl. 18, 140.
10. (Plate 78.) 2 examples of type 2. In one case the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 16 as well as 27.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-3 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: A row of serekhs of King Udimu and the group i^m-sceptre and swimming man.
The same group occurs also in 26, 27, and 28 (Ankhka), see also Tomb 3507, seal-
impression 3. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pl. 18,
137, and cf. also Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 120, no. 23.
11. (Plate 78.) 1 example of type 4. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression
of 31.
Approximate dimensions: width uncertain, circumference 12-5 cm.
Design: A row of six serekhs of King Udimu and the title: | ^m-sceptre with the place-
name or vineyard t=4, see Emery, Hemaka, p. 62; id.. Great Tombs, II, p. 116, no. 9;
Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln, p. 84, n. 40. The group occurs also in 12
and 14; 16 and 31 (Ankhka); this place-name or vineyard also in 17, and with the title
cd-mr ‘administrator’ in 14 and 15; in 16, 26-30 (Ankhka); in 21 and 22 (Hemaka); in
50 (Hemaka ?); and in 33 and 34 (Medjedka). An impression of similar design is 12.
12. (Plate 79.) 3 examples of type 2, 4 examples of type 4. In one case the impression occurs
on the same sealing as an impression of 27, in one case of 29, and in one case of 33.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-4 cm., circumference 14-3 cm.
Design: Similar to that of 11. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal
Tombs, II, Pl. 18, 136.
13. (Plate 79.) 3 examples of type 2. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression
of 23.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-9 cm., circumference 13-5 cm.
Design: Three serekhs of King Udimu and twice the group sAm-sceptre with the place-name
68
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
69
or vineyard 0 see 4. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Emery, HemaJca,
p. 63, no. 3, and Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 18, 139.
14. (Plate 79.) 17 examples of type 2. The impression occurs on the same sealings as an im¬
pression of 23.
Approximate dimensions: width 6-4 cm., circumference 14-8 cm.
Design: The serelch of King Udimu alternates with (a) the ^m-sceptre with the place-name
or vineyard P^,® c^i, see 11; (b) the title 2* r d-mr with the same place-name or vineyard,
see 11; and (c) both groups (a) and (b) together. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-
impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 24, 49.
15. (Plate 79.) 2 examples of type 2. The impression occurs on the same sealings as an im¬
pression of 22.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-9 cm., circumference 12-7 cm.
Design: The serelch of King Udimu alternates with (a) fw, see 5, and (b) the title cd-mr
with the place-name or vineyard P^® see 14 and 11, and (c) both groups (a) and (b)
together. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, 1, PI. 24, 45.
16. (Plate 79.) 2 examples of type la, one example of type 16, 12 examples of type 2, and 2
examples of type 4. In two cases the impression occurs on the same sealing as an im¬
pression of 7, in one case of 5 as well as 26, in 4 cases of 7 as well as 29, in one case of
7 as well as 30, in one case of 10 as well as 27.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-7 cm., circumference 14-4 cm.
Design: The serelch of King Udimu alternates with the following groups: (a) cd-mr with the
place-name or vineyard PS^® see 14 and 11, and the name of the official (U Ankhka,
whose name also occurs on 26-32; (6) see 5; (c) j with the same place-name or
vineyard, see 11; and (d) the group f hrj-d/ shm-w (?) with the swimming man. The
same group without the swimming man occurs in 17 and 21 (Hemaka). Cf. for the same
or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 19, 149; PI. 18, 141; and Montet
in Kemi, VIII, p. 200.
17. (Plate 79.) 30 examples of type 2. In 29 cases the impression occurs on the same sealing
as an impression of 21.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-8 cm., circumference 13-8 cm.
Design: The serelch of King Udimu alternates with (a) hrj-ds{ ?); (6) hrj-di shm-w (?),
see 16; (c) the place-name or vineyard P^® see 11, and below it two sealed jars, see
also 21. Cf. for similar seal-impressions Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PL 24, 47 and 48.
18. (Plate 79.) 3 examples of type la.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-5 cm., circumference 11-8 cm.
Design: Apart from the serelch of Udimu and his other name ^ Usaphais, which also occurs
in 36, the text consists of several groups of uncertain reading: (a) a bird (V«?), the
arm holding a loaf and the vulture ^ mw-t or nr; (6) a bird / (?) and the channel or
garden pool, see C 8 (Montet in Kemi, VIII, p. 206, reads ss, the Libyan god who appears
on seal-impressions of the Second Dynasty, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pis. 22 and 23);
(c) the group ==f and a coiled serpent, reading im-t or imt-t the goddess of Buto (?); (d) the
standard of Wepwawet, cf. Tomb 3505, seal-impression 4, and underneath (e) a bird
^(?), traces of a sign and ZZ; (/) Z and the coiled serpent, reading hnw-t ‘mistress’ (?).
Cf. for the same or a similar sealing, found in Abou-Roash, Montet in Kemi, VIII, pp.
205 ff. Seal-impressions with similar groups were found in Abydos, Petrie, Royal Tombs,
II, PI. 19, 151 and 152.
19. (Plate 79.) 1 example of type 2.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The serelch of King Udimu(?) alternates with an enclosure containing $ lid and a
group probably to be read | pr-hd ‘treasury’, cf. Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 124, no. 40.
Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 18, 145.
20. (Plate 80.) 1 example of type 3. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression
of 47.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: the general design is uncertain. There are traces of a serelch, probably of Udimu,
three different birds and ^(?) and twice —
21. (Plate 80.) 32 examples of type 2. In 29 cases the impression occurs on the same sealing
as an impression of 17. .
Approximate dimensions: width 5*1 cm., circumference 15 cm.
Design: The design consists of the same elements as 17, only instead of the serelch of Udimu
the name IJ^ 7 Hemaka occurs and the title cd-mr ‘administrator’. Hemaka occurs also
U -
in 22-25 and perhaps 50. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs,
I, PI. 25, 54 == II, PI. 20, 163, and Amelineau, Nouv. Fouilles, 1895/96, PI. 21.
22. (Plate 80.) 6 examples of type 2. In three cases the impression occurs on the same sealing
as an impression of 5, in one case of 9, in 2 cases of 15.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-1 cm., circumference 12-4 cm.
Design: It consists of the same elements as 15, only instead of the serelch of Udimu the name
Hemaka occurs, see 21. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Emery, Hemaka,
p. 62, fig. 19, and Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 20, 161.
23. (Plate 80.) 24 examples of type 2. In one case the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 5, in 3 cases of 13, in 17 cases of 14.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-6 cm., circumference 13-3 cm.
Design: The name Hemaka, see 21, with the s'6m-sceptre, the title cd-mr and the place-name
or vineyard 0 Sv*”, see 4. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Emery, Hemaka,
p. 63, fig. 23, and Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 25, 53.
24. (Plate 80.) 10 examples of type 2. In 9 cases the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 5.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-3 cm., circumference 12-2 cm.
Design: The name Hemaka, see 21, with the titles shm hry-ib, see 5, cd-mr with the place-
name or vineyard 0 see 4, the <s6m-sceptre, see 23, and v ib. Cf. for the same or a
similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 25, 55.
25. (Plate 80.) 1 example of type 5.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The signs 1 and U can be read, probably part of the name Hemaka, see 21.
70
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
71
26. (Plate 80.) 1 example of type 2. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression
of 5 as well as 16.
Approximate dimensions: width 5*7 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The name Ankhka, see 16, with ( a) shm- sceptre and swimming man, see 10, and
(6) the traces of a group which is probably rd-mr with the place-name or vineyard P^lffil
see 14 and 11. Impressions of similar design are 27 and 28, cf. also Emery, HemaJca, p. 64,
fig. 25, and Montet in Kemi, VIII, pp. 198-9.
27. (Plate 80.) 6 examples of type 2. In 2 cases the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 7, in one case of 12, in one case of 10 as well as 16.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-7 cm., circumference 15 cm.
Design: Similar to that of 26.
28. (Plate 80.) 1 example of type 2. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression
of 5.
Approximate dimensions: width uncertain, circumference 14-4 cm.
Design: Similar to that of 26.
29. (Plate 80.) 1 example of type 16, 12 examples of type 2. In 7 cases the impression occurs
on the same sealing as an impression of 7, in 4 cases of 7 and 16, in one case of 8, in one
case of 12.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-2 cm., circumference 14-2 cm.
Design: The same elements occur as on 26-28, only instead of the s'Am-sceptre the title(?)
shm hry-ib, see 5. Impressions of similar design are 30 and probably 31.
30. (Plate 81.) 2 examples of type 2. In one case the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 8, in one case of 7 as well as 16.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-3 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: Similar to that of 29. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal
Tombs, II, PI. 19, 153.
31. (Plate 81.) 1 example of type 4. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression
of 11.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: See 29.
32. (Plate 81.) 3 examples of type 3.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The name Ankhka, see 16, and the title(?) ()«=» It, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PL 21,
29, and Tomb 3507, seal-impression 4.
33. (Plate 81.) 3 examples of type 2. In 2 cases the impression occurs on the same sealing as
an impression of 5, in one case of 12.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-2 cm., circumference 12-9 cm.
Design: The name V mdd-h Medjedka occurs, with the titles shm hry-ib, see 5, and rd-mr
with the place-name or vineyard see 14 and 11. A similar design is that of 34.
Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 20, 158, see also
159. The name Medjedka occurs on a stela also from the time of Udimu, found in Abou-
Roash, see Montet in Kemi, VIII, PI. 6, p. 180.
34. (Plate 81.) 3 examples of type 2. In 2 cases the impression occurs on the same sea ling as
an impression of 6.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-9 cm., circumference 14-3 cm.
Design: Similar to that of 33.
35. (Plate 81.) 1 example of type 2.
Approximate dimensions: width 2-8 cm., circumference 7 cm.
Design: The name Medjedka, see 33, together with the following signs and groups: >, <=>
(could these be part of the spelling of the name Medjedka ?), a sealed jar (? cf. 17),
‘House of Min’ (or is it m—?), and double —.
36. (Plate 81.) 4 examples of type lc.
Approximate dimensions: width 3-8 cm., circumference 10-4 cm.
Design: The name ||]f st-ki Setka, which also occurs on 37-39, and is known from a stela
of the time of King Zet, see Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pis. 31 and 33, 8. Setka has the
titles ^ msn ‘harpooner ’(?), as in 37-39, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 32, 39; II, PI. 7, 6,
S ‘administrator’, see 14, JL hnty-s (or mr ?, the title hnty-s is known from the O.K., see
Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln, pp. 107 ff.). Finally a group consisting of
0 hw-t ‘House’, containing the name of King Udimu Usaphais and two signs: '■= and a
bird of uncertain reading; cf. Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 118, nos. 15-16, and Petrie,
Royal Tombs, I, PI. 19, 7 ?
37. (Plate 81.) 4 examples of type lc.
Approximate dimensions: width 4 cm., circumference 8-3 cm.
Design: The name Setka, see 36, and the titles msn, see 36, sdmty bity ‘treasurer of the
King of Lower Egypt’, which title also occurs in Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 11,14 = PI.
15, 6 (Hemaka), 11, 5 = 14,12, 23, 39 and on a stela ibid., Pis. 31 and 36,43. Finally the
title shn-w th ‘searcher of the soul(?) ’, see Sethe, Dramatisehe Texte zu altdgyptischen
Mysterienspiele, p. 193, and Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 120, no. 24.
38. (Plate 82.) 3 examples of type lc.
Approximate dimensions: width 4 - 5 cm., circumference 10'2 cm.
Design: The name Setka, see 36, and the titles msn, see 36, shn-w sh, see 37, and \ hh
‘ruler’(?), see the title hh niw on the stela of Merka in Tomb 3505.
39. (Plate 82.) 2 examples of type lc.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-7 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The name Setka, see 36, with the title msn, see 36, and a group consisting of an
enclosure containing the sign Sib ‘variegated’: ‘House of the variegated cattle(?)\
40. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type lc.
Approximate dimensions: width 1*4 cm., circumference 4 cm.
Design: A lioness with single bent bar before a theriomorphic shrine, see Emery, Great
Tombs, II, p. 125, no. 44, the sign =i= htp and □ p, the place-name Buto(?), and a figure
of the two-headed earth-god Aker, see Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 89, and Great Tombs, II,
p. 120, no. 26. Cf. also Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 27, no. 11.
41. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type lc.
Approximate dimensions: width L3 cm., circumference uncertain.
72
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Design: The text includes U and two signs of uncertain reading. Cf. for the tall sign Emery,
Great Tombs, II, p. 121, no. 27, and for the small sign Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 103, no. 63 ?
42. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type Ic.
Approximate dimensions: width L4 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The text includes the signs P, * =a , “ <& , and .
43. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type 5.
Approximate dimensions: width uncertain (1-2 cm. ?), circumference 3-3 cm.
Design: The text consists of double Q with underneath, the figure of Anubis with feather
on back, the title (?) PI shd (?), 8 Sdiwty (?), see 37 and underneath ^ and % followed by
twice the group iL, a name(?).
44. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type la.
Approximate dimensions: width 1-9 cm., circumference 5 cm.
Design: The title shn-w-th, see 37, a group which is repeated three times, containing
and a group consisting of the ibex, a tall sign of uncertain reading and
45. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type 1 d.
Approximate dimensions: width P6 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The remaining signs are double Q, Lj, *—and the animal- or bird-trap, see Tomb
3505, seal-impression 5.
46. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type 3.
Approximate dimensions: width 4-8 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: An enclosure of the form of the hieroglyph 01, containing a granary, see Tomb 3505,
seal-impression 18, and the group J^, possibly the name Kf-n-y Kani, which name occurs
on a stela of a woman of the time of King Zer, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PL 27, 112,
and possibly also on a seal-impression from Tomb 3504, cf. Emery, Great Tombs, II,
p. 120, no. 25. The sign also occurs.
47. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type 3. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression
of 20.
Approximate dimensions: width 6 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The design consists of two j hm and the well full of water o reading hm or bli.
Cf. for this group Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 6, 18, and the cylinders 99, 110, and 152
in Petrie, Scarabs, Pis. 4 and 6.
48. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type la.
Approximate dimensions: width 3-8 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: A lioness with two bent bars, see 40, before a theriomorphic shrine. Among the
remaining signs are ° , JK |, and
49. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type 2.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The design includes three standards carrying a falcon, reading ntr-w ‘gods’(?),
<■“*», and y .
50. (Plate 82.) 1 example of type 4.
Approximate dimensions: It consists of the group ed-mr with the place-name or vineyard
see 14 and 11, LJ and 2?, the name Hemaka, see 21 1
PART IV
TOMB NO. 3507
CHAPTER IX
INTRODUCTION
The tomb is situated on the edge of the escarpment about 30 metres south of Tomb X, which
was discovered and recorded in 1938 during the course of the building of magazines behind the
expedition headquarters. 1 Like Tomb X, No. 3507 can be dated to the reign of Udimu, but un¬
like the former which was built at the close of the reign, there is no doubt, from the evidence of
both architecture and objects, that it belongs to the earliest period of Udimu.
Inscribed material strongly suggests that the tomb is the burial place of Queen Her-nit, who
may have been the consort of Zer (see ‘Inscribed Material’, Chapter XII), who died, an old
woman, early in the reign of Udimu who arranged her burial. The architectural design of the
structure follows closely the pre-entrance stairway type of the earlier half of the dynasty, but the
sealing of the funerary equipment such as the big wine-jars was undoubtedly done by officials
of Udimu. Although in general design the tomb appears to conform to the pre-stairway type
of the early Eirst Dynasty, it presents many new architectural features, the main importance of
which was the use of sculptured stonework in the roofing of the burial chamber. Furthermore,
we have our second and even more illuminating example of the combination of two distinct
forms of funerary architecture in the one edifice. Tomb No. 3038 which was probably the burial
place of Enezib was discovered in 1937 and the excavation revealed a stepped pyramid super¬
structure embodied within the panelled brick mastaba. This tomb is dated, of course, to the end
of the dynasty, and now in Tomb 3507, belonging to the early half of the period, we have a
similar feature, although in this it takes the form of a rectangular earthen tumulus faced with
brickwork; an obvious prototype of the stepped structure in Tomb 3038. Traces of this earthen
tumulus have been previously noted in other tombs at Sakkara, such as No. 3471; but owing
to their more ruined condition their real character was not recognized.
The southern tombs of the First Dynasty kings at Abydos have long presented an architec¬
tural problem, for when they were cleared by Petrie and Amelineau at the end of the last cen-
tury it was found that the superstructure over the great burial pits had been entirely destroyed
and no evidence remained of their character or design. Many theoretical reconstructions have
been proposed, 2 but only one fact was certain: they must have been far smaller than the super¬
structures of their counterparts at Sakkara. With what is almost certainly the combination of
the superstructure designs of Upper and Lower Egypt revealed in Tomb 3507, this problem is
Emery, Great Tombs of the First Dynasty, I, p. 107, 2 Reisner, Origin and Development of the Egyptian Tomb.
L
74
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
now solved, and it is obvious that the Abydos monuments must have been surmounted in the
early examples by the rectangular brick-covered tumulus and in the later ones with the stepped
brick superstructure. This, and the wider question of its influence on the evolution of pyramid
design, is a matter for further study and will be dealt with in the final volume of this series.
CHAPTER X
ARCHITECTURE
9
General Description
(Plates 85 and 86)
Although Tomb 3507 can be dated to the reign of Udimu, it is of the pre-stairway type of
the earlier half of the dynasty and there can be little doubt that it was built before such struc¬
tures as 3035, 3036, and 3506. The only other example of a pre-entrance stairway tomb dated
to Udimu is that of Sabu, discovered in 1936, and it is interesting to note that, like Sabu, the
recessed pane lling of the superstructure has the simplified shallow niches.
The substructure consists of a single deep pit originally roofed with timber at ground level
and again with stone flags and timber at half its depth. A narrow rock-cut stairway against the
north wall of the pit descends as far down as the second roofing, but not beyond. After the
burial had been installed and the double roofing erected, a rectangular tumulus of rubble was
raised above the superstructure and cased with brickwork. Finally this superstructure was buried
beneath the usual ‘palace facade’ mastaba, with eight large niches on the long sides and three
on the short. The interior is divided into a series of twenty-eight magazines with false floors
resting on a sand filling, which is raised to a height which just covers the tumulus above the
substructure.
The substructure is better preserved than any other monument of the First Dynasty yet
found. The east fagade is still standing at certain points more than 2-40 metres in height, and
the recessed panelling retains much of its painted decoration in red and light yellow. One of the
big niches retains the sockets for the wooden rollers which surmounted the false door, and we
can thus establish with certainty their maximum height—valuable evidence in estimating the
total height of the superstructure.
At the foot of the fagade is the usual bench on which were placed the bulls’ heads made of
clay with real horns. Most of these have long since been destroyed, but sufficient survive to
indicate the system on which they were arranged. Surrounding the whole superstructure is an
enclosure wall preserved at some points to its original height of 1-50 metres. Between it and
the bulls’ head bench was a corridor with a mud-packed pavement painted green. Access to
the corridor was gained through a gateway at the south end of the east enclosure wall.
Details and Measurements
The Enclosure Wall and Corridor (Plate 88 b)
The enclosure wall and corridor surrounds the superstructure on all four sides. At the south
end of the east wall is an entrance gateway 1-65 metres wide, opening from a court measuring
4*50 metres in width and 2-65 metres in depth (Plate 89 b). The walls of the gate and court are
vertical and faced with white gypsum plaster. Owing to its ruined state, it is impossible to
ascertain if the court was roofed; but the absence of any signs of support suggests that it was
76
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
left open. Parts of the enclosure wall are preserved to the original height of 1-45 metres. Both
sides have a curved hatter and were faced with white gypsum plaster. The corridor has a packed
mud pavement originally painted green.
Measurements: Total length north—south 44-35 metres
east-west
22-25 „
Thickness at base
0-80 „
Thickness at top
0-28 „
Width of corridor
2-90 „
The Superstructure (Plates 87, 88, and 89)
Exterior measurements of main walls: north 15-85 metres
south 15-80 ,,
east 37-90 „
west 37-75 „
Thickness of main walls: north 4-70
south 4-55 „
east 4-50 „
west 4-65 ,,
Maximum height of walls as found: 2-50 ,,
The brickwork is laid in tile fashion in courses of three headers to one of stretchers, with reed
bonding between every fifth or sixth course. The exterior of the superstructure has the usual
recessed panelling of the ‘palace f^ade’, consisting of eight large simplified niches on the lo n g
and three on the short sides, separated in each case by three small niches. The panelling was
faced by mud plaster 2-0 cm. thick, over which was a white gypsum stucco painted yellow, with
the inner recess or door of the large niches painted red (Plate 89).
Measurements of the palace fa 9 ade:
Large niche: maximum width 1-90 metres
„ depth 0-80 „
Small niche: ,, width 0-50 ,,
„ depth 0-30 „
Height of the false door from floor to roller 1-50 metres
Diameter of roller 0-08 ,,
Total height of inner recess 1-72 ,,
At the foot of the panelled facade on all four sides is the bulls’-head bench, 0-45 metre wide
and 0-25 metre high, faced with mud plaster painted white (Plate 90). Examination has shown
that the bulls’ heads were only placed before the middle of each group of three small niches and
there was no trace of them in the big niches.
The interior of the superstructure is divided up into a series of twenty-nine magazines by
cross walls with a uniform thickness of 0-65 metre. These cross walls are all bonded together as
well as to the main walls of the superstructure with the brickwork laid in courses of three
stretchers to one header. No attempt has been made to face the magazine walls with plaster, and
the floors have been raised to a uniform height of 1-25 metres by a filling of sand.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
77
The Substructure (Plate 86)
The substructure consists of a deep rectangular pit with a rock-cut stairway, 0-60 metre wide,
against its north wall which descends to half its depth. At the top the pit measures 5-25 metres
from north to south and 3-15 metres from east to west and has a total depth of 4-75 metres from
the ground level (Plates 92 and 93). The edge of the four sides has a brick wall which rises about
0-30 metre above ground level and retains the soft gravel strata in which the timber beams of
the roo fing were embedded. These beams, which were spaced about 0-30 metre apart, were laid
from east to west and support heavy cross planks, remains of which were traced in the retaining
walls. At a depth of 2-25 metres a cut-in shelf in all four walls of the pit gave support for a
second roof of timber which stretched from the foot of the descending stairway to two rock-cut
pilasters in the east and west walls. These pilasters were spanned by a limestone lintel carved
with a frieze of seated lions, the earliest examples of constructional sculpture yet found in Egypt
(Plate 96). The lintel, measuring 0-25 metre in depth, gave support to a stone flag roofing which
covered the south area of the burial chamber.
The Tumulus (Plates 92 and 93)
The substructure is covered by a rectangular tumulus of sand and rubble, cased with a single
layer of bricks laid in tile fashion. The corners are not rounded, but form sharp rising angles.
Details of the construction are shown on Plate 86.
Measurements: length from north to south 10-50 metres
„ „ east to west 9-20 „
Maximum height 1-10 „
Brickwork
The size of the bricks throughout the whole structure was uniform: 0-24 by 0-11 by 0-05
metres.
CHAPTER XI
THE DISCOVERY
On 26 December 1955 we started to cut test trenches across the road which led to our expedition
house from the south. The existence of a large tomb of the First Dynasty below the road was
suspected because of the shadowy outlines of magazine walls, only discernible when the ground
was moist from ram or early morning dew. The first tests were disappointing and it looked as
though the area was restricted entirely to small tombs of Third Dynasty date. However, we
were encouraged by fragments of early First Dynasty pottery at a fairly high level, followed by
scattered bricks belonging to the same period. The removal of part of the superstructure of a
small Third Dynasty tomb on 31 December revealed part of the east fagade of the tomb and
the work of clearance then continued without interruption until 3 March 1956, by which time
the whole structure was completely revealed.
The Supbesteuctuee
Beyond isolated fragments of pottery, the clearance of the corridors surrounding the super¬
structure yielded only one find of importance. This was a large group of pottery offerings lying
undisturbed on the floor of the east corridor just south of the entrance gateway, where they
had been protected by part of the superstructure of a small Third Dynasty tomb which had
been built over them (Plate 91). This deposit consisted of the following quantities and types:
21 of C 8, 1 of D 2, 1 of D 3, 23 of D 6, 1 of D 8, 93 of D 9, 10 of D 11, 2 of H 1, 74 of I 2,
2 of K 3, and 6 of L 3. Another pottery deposit outside the north enclosure wall consisted of
51 of C 8 and 2 of L 4. The removal of part of the superstructure of another small Third Dynasty
tomb, which was built over the north side of the entrance gateway and enclosure wall, revealed
a shallow rectangular grave cut in the gravel to a depth of 0-65 metres. In the grave, which was
undisturbed, was the skeleton of a dog, head south, wrapped in palm-fibre matting (Plate 91).
Preliminary examination suggests that this dog, buried as guardian of the Queen’s tomb, was
of a breed akin to the saluki.
The dog burial was the only subsidiary grave found belonging to the tomb, and a careful
examination both inside and outside the enclosure waffs revealed no trace of the usual burials
of sacrificed retainers.
In clearing away the debris above the superstructure, a number of small Third Dynasty tombs
built above the magazine fillings were exposed. Completely ransacked by ancient plunderers,
with one exception they yielded nothing of interest. This exception was a small shaft tomb of
the early Third Dynasty with a small brick superstructure built above magazine L. The shaft
had been cut through the sand filling below the false floor of the magazine, and its walls were
retained by small rough stone blocks. At a point just above the floor level we recovered a stone
from the west waff of the shaft which had obviously been re-used. Examination showed it to
be a sculptured slab of limestone, possibly a trial piece (Cat. No. 1 , p. 84). The surface on both
sides has been considerably worn and weathered and it is certain that the slab was old when
re-used in the Third Dynasty construction. It may well, therefore, have belonged to the original
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY 79
First Dynasty structure, and in any case cannot be dated to a later period than the end of the
Second Dynasty (Plate 97).
Many fragments of pottery and stone vessels were recovered from the surface clearing above
the superstructure, but only the following quantities and types of pottery vessels were ascertain¬
able: 7 of A 3, 2 of A 4, and 1 of I 2. Of stone vessels the following were recognizable: 1 of A 8,
1 of A 16, 2 of C 4, 3 of S 4, and 2 of S 9. The magazines with the superstructure were entirely
empty with the exception of C, M, and AA, which contained a few pottery and stone vessels
scattered in the filling.
The Substructure
The tumulus above the substructure had been largely destroyed by the ancient plunderers
in making their way down to the burial chamber. Nevertheless, parts of it which were over-built
by the magazine cross wall were so perfectly preserved that accurate measurements of the
structure were ascertainable. The redeem in the substructure yielded considerable quantities
of broken pottery, most of which was typable, and on the floor level of the burial chamber much
of the pottery was intact; but most of the stone vessels were broken and scattered. Of the pot¬
tery, the following quantities and types were identified with certainty: 3 of A 1, 48 of A 3,
6 of A 4, 23 of B 1, 5 of B 3, 11 of C 1, 2 of C 2, 9 of C 6,4 of D 1, 26 of F 1, 43 of F 4, 20 of G,
1 of 11, 9 of I 2, 4 of L 1, and 5 of R 1. Most of the pottery jars of type C 6 were marked in
black paint with the serelch of Udimu, followed by a group denoting their contents. Scattered
among the broken pottery were many clay jar sealings, some bearing the name of Udimu, others
the name of Sekhka, a councillor and sm-priest. Sealings of Sekhka were found in the tomb of
Queen Meryet-nit at Abydos. The following stone vessels were identified: 5 of A 1, 3 of A 8,
2 of A 26, 4 of B 2, 1 of C 2, 2 of C 5, 6 of C 7, 2 of C 9, 6 of C 10, 1 of G 10, 1 of H 16, 1 of
I 7, 1 of 113, 1 of 116, 5 of K 3, 1 of L 1, 1 of S 4, 1 of S 5, 1 of S 7, 5 of S 8, 4 of S 9, 9 of
S 10, 1 of S 12, 1 of S 13, 1 of S 19, 11 of S 20, 4 of S 21, 52 of S 22, 1 of T 2, 5 of T 3, 4 of T 6,
1 of T 10, 2 of T 11, 5 of T 13, 1 of T 14, 2 of T 15, 1 of T 16, 2 of T 20, 3 of V 1, 1 of V 2, 1
X 1, and 1 of Z 3. Some of the stone bowls had been inscribed with the name of the Queen
Her-nit and titles, which suggests that she may have been the consort of Zer (see ‘Inscribed
Material’, p. 93).
As described above, the north area of the burial chamber was roofed with timber and the
south area from the rock-cut pilasters was roofed with stone flags, many of which were found
with their lintel support on the floor of the room. The stone-roofed part of the room appears
to have been devoted almost entirely to the storage of pottery and stone vessels containing
food and drink, while the north end under the wooden roof contained the actual burial. Here
we found the flooring boards of a big wooden sarcophagus measuring 2-65 by 1*70 metres
(Plate 96). Surrounding the sarcophagus were small brick-built magazines, two of which on the
east side stiff contained ox-bones ahd the fragments of pottery dishes which originally contained
them—probably the remains of the funerary repast which we now know was customary with
all burials of the period.
On the floor of the sarcophagus were the few scattered bones of the owner of the tomb, so
fragmentary that it was impossible to ascertain their sex; although sufficient evidence remained
to show that they belonged to a person of considerable age. Near these human remains lay the
broken pieces of the magnificent cup of schist and alabaster, as well as the crystal dishes (Plates
80
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
103 and 104). Among other fragments of toilet utensils such as palettes and cosmetic sticks were
the miniature vases (Cat. Nos. 42, 43, 44) and the ivory vase inscribed with the title of 4 she who
is united with the two lords’. Masses of beadwork faience, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and gold, with
broken bracelets of ivory, schist, dolomite, and onyx were found near the human remains (see
‘Jewellery’, p. 81). Only in the case of the spiral beads of type 1 and the tubular heads of type 10
was there any certain indication of their order or character; both would appear to have belonged
to some form of belt. The order of beadwork of the necklace (Plate 99) is la rgely conjectural,
hut they were found together and almost certainly belong to the same piece of jewellery.
Furthermore, two of the carnelian heads were found adhering to one of the gold cylinders, as
was one of the lotus pends to the central button head or disk. Fragments of ivory gaming pieces
and numerous flint implements were also recovered from the debris of the ravaged burial; but
they were so scattered that their position had no significance.
CHAPTER XII
THE CONTENTS OF THE TOMB
«
J EWELLERY
(Plate 108)
12. More than a hundred spiral-conical heads of type 1. All of blue glazed faience. Size: average
length 1-9 cm., average diameter 0-7 cm. (Plate 99).
13. Hundreds of tubular beads of type 10. All of blue glazed faience. Size: average length
1-4 cm., average diameter 0-25 cm. (Plate 99).
14. Two spiral-cylindrical heads of type 2. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 1-2 cm., diameter
0-3 cm.
15. Spiral cylindrical bead of type 3. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 1-4 cm., diameter 0-3 cm.
16. Flattened barrel head of type 20. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0-9 cm., diameter 0-6 cm.
17. Flattened ball heads of type 14. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0-5 cm., diameter 0-5 cm.
18. Grooved cylinder bead of type 5. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0-4 cm., diameter 0-5 cm.
19. Two barrel-beads of type 21. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0-35 cm., diameter 0-3 cm.
20. Cylindrical bead of type 13. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0-3 cm., diameter 0-4 cm.
21. Eight cylindrical heads of type 18. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0 - 2 cm., diameter 0 - 3 cm.
22. Two cylindrical beads of type 11. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0 - 2 cm., diameter 0 - 3 cm.
23. Flattened ball bead of type 19. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 0‘13 cm., diameter 0 - 3 cm.
24. Flattened ball head of type 16. Green glazed faience. Size: length 0-15 cm., diameter 0-3 cm.
25. Grooved cylindrical bead of type 6. Red-brown glazed faience. Size: length 0*2 cm., diameter
0-3 cm.
26. Short tubular head of type 12. Lapis lazuli. Size: length 0-7 cm., diameter 0-52 cm.
27. Flattened ball bead of type 17. Lapis lazuli. Size: length 0-45 cm., diameter 0-9 cm.
28. Flattened hall bead of type 17. Lapis lazuli. Size: length 0 - 4 cm., diameter 0 - 75 cm.
29. Ball bead of type 15. Lapis lazuli. Size: length 0-72 cm., diameter 0-9 cm.
30. Two tubular beads of type 9. Carnelian. Size: length 0-5 cm., diameter 0-25 cm.
31. Sixty-nine barrel beads of type 22. Carnelian. Size: length 0-7 cm., diameter 0-5 cm.
32. Pendant barrel head of type 23. Carnelian. Size: length 0-9 cm., diameter 0-5 cm.
33. Ten tubular beads of type 7. Gold. Size: length from 1*55 to 2*2 cm., diameter 0*23 cm.
34. Short tubular bead of type 8. Gold. Size: length 0-21 cm., diameter 0-23 cm.
35. Two pendant beads of type 26. Gold. Size: length 1-2 cm., diameter 0-7 cm.
36. Button head of type 27. Gold. Size: maximum thickness 0-55 cm., diameter 1-6 cm.
39. Two cowries. Size: length 1-5, 1*35 cm.
M
82
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
83
40. Irregular shaped bead of type 24. Olivine. Length 0-55 cm., width 0-4 cm.
80. Ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 6-15 cm., thickness 0-3 cm.
81. Ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 6-4 cm., thickness 0-2 cm.
82. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 6-2 cm., thickness 0-4 cm.
83. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 51) cm., thickness 0*2 cm.
84. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 7-0 cm., thickness 0-3 cm.
85. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 5-7 cm., thickness 0-1 cm.
86. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 6 - 6 cm., thickness 0'2 cm.
87. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 6-3 cm., thickness 0-3 cm.
88. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 5-4 cm., thickness 0-2 cm.
89. Red jasper bracelet. Size: diameter 6-3 cm., thickness 0-4 cm.
90. Fragments of an onyx bracelet. Size: diameter 6-1 cm., thickness 0-5 cm.
91. Fragments of a dolomite bracelet. Size: diameter 6*5 cm., thickness 1*3 cm.
92. Schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-4 cm., thickness 0-4 cm.
93. Schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-0 cm., thickness 1-3 cm.
94. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 7-2 cm., thickness 1-6 cm.
95. Schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-0 cm., thickness 0-4 cm.
96. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-6 cm., thickness 1-0 cm.
97. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-4 cm., thickness 0-7 cm.
98. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-1 cm., thickness 0-6 cm.
99. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 5-6 cm., thickness 0-6 cm.
100. Schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-4 cm., thickness 0-5 cm.
101. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-0 cm., thickness 0-4 cm.
102. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6*2 cm., thickness 0*5 cm.
103. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6*0 cm., thickness 0*4 cm.
104. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 5'8 cm., thickness 0*3 cm.
105. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6-1 cm., thickness 0-5 cm.
106. Fragments of schist bracelet. Size: diameter 6'0 cm., thickness 0*4 cm.
107. Flint bracelet. Size: diameter 64) cm., thickness 0*4 cm.
108. Flint bracelet. Size: diameter 6-2 cm., thickness 0-4 cm.
109. Fragments of flint bracelet. Size: diameter 7*0 cm., thickness 0*7 cm.
110. Flint bracelet. Size: diameter 6-0 cm., thickness 0*3 cm.
HI* Fragments of a flint bracelet. Size: diameter 6*4 cm., thickness 0*4 cm.
112. Fragments of a flint bracelet. Size: diameter 6*6 cm., thickness 0*5 cm.
113. Fragments of flint bracelet. Size: diameter 5*9 cm., thickness 0*5 cm.
114. Fragments of a flint bracelet. Size: diameter 6-3 cm., thickness 0-4 cm.
115. Fragments of a flint bracelet. Size: diameter 6*7 cm., thickness 0-5 cm.
116. Fragments of an ivory bracelet. Size: diameter 6-3 cm., thickness 0-3 cm.
146. Grooved cylindrical bead of type 4. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 1*0 cm., diameter
0-4 cm.
147. Pendant bead of type 25. Blue glazed faience. Size: length 1*0 cm., diameter 1*0 cm.
Toilet Utensils
3. Rectangular slate palette with slightly convex sides. Size: length 6-4 cm., width 4*7 cm.,
thickness 1*1 cm.
4. Ditto. Size: length 6*4 cm., width 4-0 cm., thickness 0*7 cm.
5. Ditto. Size: length 6*3 cm., width 4-9 cm., thickness 1-6 cm.
6. Ditto. Size: length 6*1 cm., width 4-5 cm., thickness 1*3 cm.
7. Ditto. Size: length 5*3 cm., width 5-1 cm., thickness 0*8 cm.
8. Ditto. Size: length 6*7 cm., width 5*5 cm., thickness 1*0 cm.
9. Ditto. Size: length 7*2 cm., width 5*2 cm., thickness 0*6 cm.
10. Ditto. Size: length 6-6 cm., width 4*4 cm., thickness 1*0 cm.
11. Ditto. Size: length 7-0 cm., width 5*1 cm., thickness 0-9 cm. (Plate 101.)
41. Miniature slate palette (Plate 103). Size: length 2-1 cm., width 1*2 cm., thickness 0*15 cm.
42. Miniature toilet vase of ivory (Plate 103). Size: height 2-25 cm., diameter 1*4 cm.
43. Miniature toilet vase of ivory (Plate 103). Size: height 1-35 cm., diameter 0-75 cm.
44. Miniature toilet vase of greenish-black steatite (Plate 103). Size: height 1-25 cm., diameter
1*72 cm.
46. Round ivory toilet stick. Size: length 7*9 cm., diameter 0*8 cm.
67. Rectangular slate palette with slightly convex sides. Size: length 7*1 cm., width 4*4 cm.,
thickness 1-3 cm.
68. Ditto. Size: length 7*5 cm., width 4-4 cm., thickness 0*8 cm.
72. Tubular toilet vase of ivory. Inscribed on the side. Size: height 5-2 cm., diameter 3*2 cm.
(Plate 102).
117. Plain round cosmetic stick of ivory. Size: length 19-5 cm., diameter 0-4 cm.
118. Plain round cosmetic stick of ivory. Size: length 20-0 cm., diameter 0-3 cm.
119. Fragment of an ivory cosmetic stick. Size: length 6-5 cm., diameter 0-4 cm.
120. Fragment of the flattened butt-end of an ivory cosmetic stick. Size: length 4-3 cm.
121. Bowl of an ivory toilet spoon. Size: length 2-5 cm.
126. Fragment of tubular toilet vase of ivory similar to No. 72. Size: length 4-4 cm., diameter
3*4 cm.
127. Ditto. Size: length 2-5 cm., diameter 3-4 cm.
84 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Games
37. Seven amethyst marbles, probably used as counters. Size: varying in diameter from 1-05
to 0-60 cm.
38. Rock-crystal marble. Size: 1 •0 cm. in diameter.
47. Ivory gaming piece. Size: height 1-2 cm., diameter 3-1 cm.
73. Ivory bull’s leg from a gaming-board table. Size: 13-1 cm. in height (Plate 102).
74. Fragments of ivory bulls’ legs from gaming-board tables.
75-78. Fragments of ivory probably from a gaming-board.
122. Fragment of an ivory gaming piece. Size: height 1-5 cm., diameter 3-4 cm.
124. Fragment of an ivory ‘lion’ gaming piece. Size: length 3-0 cm., height 2-3 cm.
Miscellaneous Objects
65 ' !l 0ry i plaqUe i _ Wltl1 inscri P tion ( No - 18 )- Size: height 4-0 cm., width 3-0 cm., thickness 0-6 cm.
, tW ° mWard peg holes - The is engraved and filled in with blue
mt (Plate 102).
123. Three fragments of ivory inlay work in the form of bound reeds.
125. Fragment of ivory from furniture inlay, with peg hole. Size: length 2-5 cm., height 0-6 cm
thickness 0-6 cm.
79. Ivory box lid with a pierced top handle. Size: length 6-6 cm., width 4-7 cm. (Plate 102).
1. Limestone slab on which is depicted in relief a standing figure of a king of Lower Egypt
wice represented m the heb-sed dress, carrying the band over his arms, a flail (or was-sceptre)
m his left hand, and the hts sceptre in his right. Facing the figures of the king on a slightly
higher level is depicted a baboon seated on a pedestal in the shape of the m,ct sign, surrounded
by four birds, three of which are recognizable as a falcon, an owl, and an eagle. The back
of the slab is accurately divided into 1-6-cm. squares by perpendicular and horizontal lines,
bize. 39-5 cm. m width and 4-1 cm. in thickness. The slab was found with other rough-cut
s ones used m the casing of the shaft of a small Third Dynasty tomb which had been cut
rough the filling of magazine L of the superstructure (Plates 97 and 98).
2. Part of a limestone lintel which formed part of the roofing of the burial chamber. Decorated
m high relief with representation of procession of crouching lions on the face and a design
of douMe wa vy fines on the lower side. The sculpture has been executed by hammering and
not by chisel. Size: 31-3 cm. in width and 17-6 cm. in thickness (Plate 96).
Flint Implements
(Plates 101 and 125)
129. Fragments of two large bifacial knives of type 1. From the burial chamber.
130. Unifacial sharp pointed blade of type 2. Size: 6-8 cm. in length. From the surface debris
above the burial chamber.
131. Fragment of a small blade of type 2. From magazine L.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
85
132. Ditto. From magazine E.
133. Fifty-one unifacial blades of type 2. Varying in size from 5-0 to 10-0 cm. in length. From
the burial chamber.
134. Unifacial sharp-pointed blade of type 3? Size 34-0 cm. in length. From magazine I.
135. Thirteen unifacial blades of type 3. Size varying from 2-8 to 7*1 cm. in length. From the
burial chamber.
136. Unifacial blade of type 4. Size: 10-4 cm. in length. From the entrance gate in the east
enclosure wall.
137. Six unifacial blades of type 4. Size varying from 7-5 to 10-6 cm. in length. From the
burial chamber.
138. Seven unifacial blades of type 5. Size varying from 5-1 to 9-3 cm. From the burial chamber.
139. Unifacial rectangular scraper of type 6. Size 6-6 cm. in length. From the surface above the
burial chamber.
140. Fifty-six unifacial rectangular scrapers of type 6. Size varying from 3-8 to 7-0 cm. From
the burial chamber.
141. Four unifacial rectangular scrapers of type 7. Size varying from 51-0 to 6-7 cm. From the
burial chamber.
142. Fourteen unifacial rectangular scrapers of type 8. Size varying from 4-2 to 6-7 cm. From
the burial chamber.
143. Ten unifacial rectangular scrapers of type 9. Size varying from 4-5 to 5-3 cm. From the
burial chamber.
144. Unifacial sickle-blade of type 10. Size 5-2 cm. in length. From the surface above the super¬
structure.
145. Unifacial sickle-blade of type 10. Size 4-2 cm. in length. From the burial chamber.
- Pottery
(Plates 109 and 110)
Type A 1. Tall jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type A 3. Tall jar.
Total number: 56.
Provenance: 48 from the burial chamber; 1 from magazine C ; 7 from the surface above
the superstructure.
Type A 4. Tall jar.
Total number: 8.
Provenance: 6 from the burial chamber; 2 from the surface above the superstructure.
86 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type A 7. Tall jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from magazine C.
Type B 1. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 23.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type B 3. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type C 1. Small bulbous jar.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type C 2. Small bulbous jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type C 6. Small bulbous jar.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type C 8. Rough ware, bulbous jar.
Total number: 95.
Provenance: 51 from the redeem against the outside of the north enclosure wall; 21
from the offering deposit in the east corridor.
Type D 1. Jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type D 2. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: offering deposit in the east corridor.
Type D 3. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: offering deposit in the east corridor.
Type D 6. Jar.
Total number: 23.
Provenance: 23 from the offering deposit in the east corridor.
Type D 8. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: offering deposit in the east corridor.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY 87
Type D 9. Jar.
Total number: 98.
Provenance: 93 from the offering deposit in the east corridor; 1 from the filling of the
west corridor; 3 from magazine C; 1 from the surface above the superstructure.
«
Type D 11. Jar.
Total number: 10.
Provenance: 10 from the offering deposit in the east corridor.
Type D 13. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from magazine M.
Type F 1. Jar.
Total number: 26.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type F 4. Jar.
Total number: 43.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type G. Flask (fragments impossible to type in detail).
Total number: 20.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type H 1. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: from offering deposit in the east corridor.
Type 11. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Type I 2. Bowl.
Total number: 86.
Provenance: 2 from magazine C; 74 from the offering deposit in the east corridor;
9 from the burial chamber; 1 from the surface above the superstructure.
Type K 3. Dish.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: offering deposit in the east corridor.
Type K 7. Dish.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: magazine C.
Type L 1. Dish.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
88
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type L 2. Dish.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: against north side of north enclosure wall.
Type L 3. Dish.
Total number: 8.
Provenance: 6 from the offering deposit in the east corridor; 1 from the filling of the
east corridor; 1 from the north side of the north enclosure wall.
Type R 1. Bowl.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Examples of pot-marks are shown on Plate 111.
Stone Vessels
(Plates 104, 112, and 113)
Type A 1. Tall cylindrical jar.
' Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type A 2. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: magazine M.
Material: alabaster. .
Type A 8. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 3 from the burial chamber; 1 from the surface above the superstructure.
Material: alabaster.
Type A 16. Small cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: surface above the superstructure.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 6-2 cm., max. width 3-7 cm.
Type A 21. Tall cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: magazine A A.
Material: alabaster.
Type A 26. Tall cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type B 2. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
«
Type C 2. Large cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type C 4. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 2 from magazine M; 2 from the surface above the superstructure.
Material: alabaster.
Type C 5. Large cylindrical jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: 2 from the burial chamber; 1 from magazine M.
Material: alabaster.
Type C 7. Slender cylindrical jar.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: (intact specimen) max. height 22-1 cm.; max. width 9-6 cm.
Type C 9. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type C 10. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type G 10. Shouldered jar.
Total number: 1,
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type H 16. Handled jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: dolomite.
Dimensions: max. height 12T cm.; max. width 22-6 cm.
great tombs of the first dynasty
Type I 7. Deep bowl with concave sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type 113. Shallow bowl with concave sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: pink limestone.
Type 116. Chalice-shaped cup.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: schist and pink limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 16-8 cm., max. width 8-1 cm.
Type K 8. Deep bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 11-4 cm.; max. width 17-7 cm.
min. height 5-9 cm.; min. width 8-3 cm.
Type L 1. Deep bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type S 4. Shallow bowl.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 1 from the burial chamber; 3 from the surface above the
Material: alabaster.
Type S 5. Deep bowl with convex sides.
superstructure.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type S 8. Heavy bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 alabaster; 2 of breccia; 2 of pink limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 6*6 cm.; max. width 20-6 cm.
min. height 2*7 cm.; min. width 8-2 cm.
Type S 9. Bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: 4 from the borial chamber; 1 from the north corridor; 2 from the east
corridor; 2 from the surface above the superstructure.
Material: alabaster.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type S 10. Bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 9.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 1 of breccia; 3 of diorite; 5 of alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 10-0 cm.; max. width 25-8 cm.
min. height 5-9 cm.; min. width 16-1 cm.
Type S 12. Small bowl with slightly convex sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 4-5 cm.; max. width 11-0 cm.
Type S 13. Deep bowl with slightly convex sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 14-1 cm.; max. width 21-1 cm.
Type S 19. Large shallow bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type S 20. Bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 11.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 3 of schist; 8 of alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 5-7 cm.; max. width 18-8 cm.
min. height 4-2 cm.; min. width 14-0 cm.
Type S 21. Bowl with slightly convex sides.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 2 of schist; 1 of limestone; 1 of alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 5-4 cm.; max. width 22-4 cm.
min. height 4-3 cm.; min. width 16-8 cm.
Type S 22. Flat bowl with slightly convex sides.
Total number: 52.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: schist and volcanic ash.
Type T 2. Large round-based dish.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: schist.
92
great tombs of the first dynasty
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
93
Type T 3. Small round-based bowl.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Materials: 2 of yellow limestone; 3 of crystal.
Dimensions: max. height 2-7 cm.; max. width 16-8 cm.
min. height 2*1 cm.; min. width 10-1 cm.
Type T 6. Bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height 4-7 cm.; max. width 19-9 cm.
min. height 2-9 cm.; min. width 11-0 cm.
Type T 10. Bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type Til. Heavy bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type T 13. Bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type T 14. Deep bowl with straight sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type T 15. Bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type T 16. Deep bowl with straight sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: schist.
Type T 20. Deep bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type Y 1. Shallow bowl with straight sides.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type V 2. Shallow bowl with straight sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: limestone.
Dimensions: max. height 4-5 cm.; max. width 18-6 cm.
Type X 1. Oval bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Type Z 3. Shouldered bowl with convex sides.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
The Inscribed Material
(Plates 105, 106, and 107)
The inscriptions found in Tomb 3507 can be divided into the following categories:
A. Inscriptions on ivory.
B. Inscriptions on stone vessels.
C. Inscriptions on pottery vessels.
D. Mud seal-impressions.
A. Inscriptions on Ivory
18. (Fig. 1, Plate 107.) Cat. No. 65. From the burial chamber, floor level. Ivory plaque inscribed
on one side, measuring 4 by 3-9 cm., max. thickness 0-6 cm., and provided with two peg-
holes. The inscription is engraved and filled in with an originally blue frit, turned black.
An enclosure Q hw-t contains the figure of the recumbent dog, Anubis, and ^ mr. The
inscription can be read ‘ House of the beloved of Anubis ’, which could be the name of the
tomb. Cf. also Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 109, no. 9.
19. (Fig. 2, Plate 107.) Cat. No. 72. From the burial chamber, floor level. Ivory vase, measuring
height 5-2 cm., max. diam. 3-2 cm., bearing the inscription srni-wt nb-wy ‘she who is
united with the two lords’, a title of a queen. The same inscription occurs on a stone vessel:
inscription B 1. This title occurs on similar ivory vases from Abydos, cf. Petrie, Royal
Tombs, II, PI. 2, 9-10; Amelineau, Nouv. Fouilles, 1897/98, PI. 15, 22, see also 23; on an
ivory lid together with the name of Queen Neithhotep, cf. Petrie, l.c. II, PL 2, 11; on stone
vessels from Abydos and Sakkara, cf. Petrie, l.c. II, PI. 2, 8, Abydos, I, PI. 4, 1-2; Scharff,
Altertiimer Vor- und Friihzeit, I, p. 223, no. 644; Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 108, no. 3.
94
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
B. Inscriptions on Stone Vessels
1- (Fig. 3, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a limestone bowl (stone vessel. Cat. No. 42).
From the burial chamber, floor level. The text consists of the title smi-wt nb-wy, see A 19,
(1 b^ty, also the title of a queen, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 5, 2 ; PI. 4, 9-10; Emery
Great Tombs, II, p. 142, figs. 205-6 (Mereyt-nit); Petrie, l.c. II, PI. 8 a, 9 (Her-nit, see
inscription 4); cf. also Emery, l.c. II, p. 188, no. 3. This title occurs also on 2(?), 5, and 22.
The fourth sign is probably o dr and could be the name of King Zer. The text could then
be translated ‘the foremost (hntj-t) wife of Zer’, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 5, 3, where
the same sign occurs, this time in connexion with Queen Mereyt-nit. See also inscriptions
4 and 5.
2. (Fig. 4, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a schist vessel (stone vessel, Cat. No. 95). From
the burial chamber, floor level. Only traces remain, to the left probably the lower part of
the sign ff|, see 1.
3. (Fig. 5, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on the bottom of a schist bowl (stone vessel. Cat.
No. 65). From the burial chamber, floor level. The sign is either © sp ‘threshing-floor’(?),
cf. Tomb 3505, seal-impression 18, or go nhn ‘Hieraconpolis’(?). See also 6 and cf. Petrie
Royal Tombs, I, PI. 11.6 = 14.11.
4. (Fig. 6, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a schist vase (stone vessel, Cat. No. 60). From
the burial chamber, floor level. The signs probably give the name of the queen Hr-n-t,
Her-nit, whose titles occur on A 19 and B 1. The name is known from Abydos: Petrie,
Royal Tombs, II, PI. 5, 5 (time of Zer); Amelineau, Nouv. Fouilles, 1897/98, PI. 15, 9 (Zer ?) •
ibid PI. 21, 25 (Zer ?); Petrie, l.c. II, PI. 7 a, 16 = Abydos, I, PI. 12, 10 (Udimu); ibid.,’
PI. 8 A, 9 (reign unknown), with the title hnty(-t), see 1. As a private name it occurs on a
stela of the time of Zer: Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pis. 26 and 28, 53. If our interpretation
is right, Queen Her-nit was the wife of Zer and was probably buried in this tomb which
is dated to the reign of Udimu.
5. (Fig. 7, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a schist bowl (stone vessel, Cat. No. 226).
From the burial chamber, floor level. The inscription consists of the title fffi], see 1, the
three rfo/4-birds which also may be the title of a queen, and the signs -f[ and P.
The birds occur also on 6, 20, and 21. Cf. for this group Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 94, no. 34,
and Helck, Untersuchungen zu den Beamtentiteln, pp. 86 ff. The title (?) rhy-t points to the
beginning of the dynasty as it occurs on seal-impressions of Hor-Aha, cf. de Morgan,
Recherches, II, fig. 558, and frequently on stone and ivory vessels from the Naqadeh tomb 9
cf de Morgan, Recherches, II, figs. 517, 584, 598-601, 661-2, 667, 673; Quibell, Archaic
Objects, nos. 11900, 11904, 11958, 11976, 11978, 14085; on a label: P.S.B.A. XXXIV,
PL 31, 2; it occurs on a seal-impression of the time of Zer from Abydos, cf. Petrie, Royal
Tombs, II, PI. 15 , 113. The fragment of a stone vessel with this group found in the tomb
o emerkhet (Petrie, l.c. I, PI. 7, 1) is probably intrusive. Other examples from Abydos-
Amelmeau, Nouv. Fouilles, 1897/98, Pis. 14, !(?), 22, 14 (Zer ?). flP together with rhy-t
occurs on stone vessels: Petrie, l.c. II, Pis. 2, 15(?) (early), 5 A, 2 (Zer) (fragmentary)/on
a pottery vessel: ibid., PI. 38, 35 (Zet) and on a seal-impression: ibid., PI. 15, 113 (Zer).
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY 95
6. (Fig. 8, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a schist bowl (stone vessel, Cat. No. 94). From
the burial chamber, lower level. The text consists of the group rhy-t, see 5, and o, possibly
the same sign as in 3.
20. (Fig. 9, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a limestone bowl (stone vessel, Cat. No. 154).
From the burial chamber, floor level. Fragment of the group rhy-t, see 5.
21. (Fig. 10, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a dolomite bowl (stone vessel, Cat. No. 156).
From the burial chamber, floor level. Fragment of the group rhy-t, see 5.
22. (Fig. 11, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a limestone bowl (stone vessel, Cat. No. 155).
From the burial chamber, floor level. The text consists of the title (ffl, see 1, a ram, reading
bi or hnm-w, and a sign of uncertain reading: P (? cf. for the group ram and s Amelineau,
Nouv. Fouilles, 1895/96, PI. 41), or f rhc (?), cf. the sign on the label of Zet in Emery, Great
Tombs, II, p. 102, fig. 105, to the left of the kheker- topped structure, and Petrie, Royal
Tombs, II, Pis. 26 and 28, 57.
C. Inscriptions on Pottery Vessels
(a) (Figs. 12 to 22, Plate 107.) Apart from the first two examples, which consist of a few
strokes, all inscriptions belong to the same class. The serelch of King Udimu is followed by a group
pH var. inw, with either ^ smr-w ‘Upper Egypt’ (8, 10, 13) or f mh-w ‘Lower Egypt’ (9,12).
The group probably denotes the contents of the vase: olive-oil (? cf. Emery, Great Tombs, II,
p. 110). The same group occurs on labels, cf. Emery, Hemaka, PI. 17-18, p. 38, and Amelineau,
Nouv. Fouilles, 1897/98, P. 15, 19, and on pottery vessels: Emery, Hor-Aha, pp. 74 ff.. Great
Tombs , II, pp. 102 ff., fig. 105, and PI. 35, Macramallah, Gimitiere archaique, p. 21, fig. 23. All
inscriptions are painted on the same type of pottery, C 6. They were found in the burial chamber,
floor level.
(b) (Fig. 23, Plate 107.) Inscription scratched on a fragment of red ware pottery with a red
slip (foreign ware ?). Cat. No. 149. From the north corridor. A shrine with a temenos wall and
a flag-pole, which is probably the 1 n(r-,sign, is represented. Cf. for similar representations Petrie,
Royal Tombs, II, PI. 10, 2 (Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 100, no. 48), and Scharff, Altertiimer Vor- und
Friihzeit, II, p. 99, no. 136, and PI. 25.
D. Mud Seal-impressions (Plate 106)
The number of sealings found in Tomb 3507 is 17. They are of the following types (see
Emery, Hor-Aha, p. 19):
Type la: dome-shaped and composed of yellowish coloured clay.
Type lc: dome-shaped and composed of grey-black clay.
Type 2: cone-shaped and composed of yellowish coloured clay.
Type 4: bag-sealings, composed of a yellowish coloured clay.
Type 5: cord-sealings, composed of grey-black clay.
There are 11 different seal-impressions, partly new. The serekh of King Udimu occurs on 1-3,
the serekh of King Ka’a on 11, probably an intrusive sealing. The official Sekhka(?), who is
known from Abydos (Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 22, 30-34; II, PI. 17, 130(?)) occurs on 4-6.
96
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
97
1. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type la, 1 example of type 4, from the burial chamber, floor level.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-9 cm., circumference 13 cm.
Design: A row of 7 serelchs of King Udimu. Nothing could be read below the serekhs except
a sign which looks like a lying s^-m-sceptre.
2. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type 2, 1 example of type 4, from the burial chamber, floor level.
In one case (type 4) the impression occurs on the same sealing as an impression of 9.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: Two rows of serekhs of King Udimu alternating with a group consisting of the
shm- sceptre, four vertical bars, and ™. Cf. for the same or a similar seal-impression
Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 119, no. 22. Cf. also Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 18, 142
and 143.
3. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type 2,1 example of type 4. Together 6 fragments which all show
parts of the same seal-impression.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: Two rows of serekhs of King Udimu alternating with the s'Am-sceptre and the
swimming man. Cf. for similar seal-impressions Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 19, 146, see
also 147 and 148, ibid. I, PI. 21, 21; Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 120, no. 23 and Tomb
3506, seal-impression 10.
4. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type la, 3 examples of type 2. From the burial chamber, floor
level.
Approximate dimensions: width 5-7 cm., circumference 14-7 cm.
Design: The name W sh-ki Sekhka 1 occurs, as on 5 and 6, alternating with three titles:
(a) f, reading hry-nd or probably nd-hr ‘councillor’. This title occurs also on a seal-
impression of the time of Khasekhemui, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, PI. 23,198; (b) (]«=> it,
see Tomb 3506, seal-impression 32; (c) the group si, which could be a spelling of the
title iry-pr-t, see Tomb 3506, inscription A 1 and the stela of Merka from Tomb 3505.
This is the more probable as Sekhka has the title hity-r on a seal-impression in Petrie,
Royal Tombs, I, PI. 22, 32, which title often is connected with the title iry-pr-t. Cf. for
the same or a similar seal-impression Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pis. 12, 3 and 22, 30.
5. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type lc. From the burial chamber, floor level.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The name Sekhka, see 4, seems to alternate with (a) an enclosure containing two
sealed jars; ( b) the remains of a group which is preserved in the same or a similar seal-
impression from Abydos, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, PI. 22, 23: an enclosure containing
an animal, a pig (?), cf. Petrie, l.c., PL 26, 60, and see Helck, Untersuchungen zu den
Beamtentiteln, p. 63.
6. (Plate 106.) 2 examples of type la. From the burial chamber, floor level.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The name Sekhka, see 4, seems to alternate with a group consisting of the title
P ^ sm-priest, see Tomb 3505, the stela of Merka, and a standing figure holding an archaic
bow (see Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar 2 ,*p. 512). Cf. the figure of a man holding a similar
bow on an archaic stela from Abydos in Amelineau, Nouv. Fouilles, 1895/96, Pl. 34 and
p. 241, 62 (= Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pl. 32, 29) and this bow apparently reading 6t
(cf. sty ‘Nubian’) on a stela l.c., Pl. 36 (= Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pl. 32, 20).
7. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type lc. From the mud-packing in the wall of the burial chamber.
Approximate dimensions: width 3-8 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: The name , Inp-w-htp(-w), which name is known from a Third Dynasty sealing,
cf. Garstang, Mahdsna and Bet-Khalldf, Pl. 19, and is common in the O.K. (see Ranke,
Personennamen, I, p. 37, 19), is followed by the s^m-sceptre and | pr-hd ‘treasury’, see
Tomb 3506, seal-impression 19. Finally there is a group consisting of an enclosure con¬
taining two signs of uncertain reading.
8. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type 5 (length 2-4 cm., diam. 1-5 cm.). From the burial chamber,
floor level.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The general design is uncertain. It includes the signs “j, LX ^ and a sign which
could be a palm-tree, cf. Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, Pl. 22, 189 or the emblem of Neith,
cf. ibid. I, Pl. 23, 39.
9. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type 2. The impression occurs on the same sealing as an impres¬
sion of 2. From the burial chamber, floor level.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The four vertical bars with — underneath, see 2, in (?) and a name (?) LUf w/h-ki (?),
cf. Ranke, Personennamen, I, p. 73, 23.
10. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type lc in two fragments. From the burial chamber, floor level.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: On the one fragment we see two X on the other three X
11. (Plate 106.) 1 example of type 2. From the second big niche from the south in the east
fa 9 ade. This sealing probably is intrusive.
Approximate dimensions: uncertain.
Design: The serekh of King Ka’a with the title rd-mr (traces) and the place-name or vineyard
Cf. for seal-impressions of similar design Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, Pl. 29, 82-85.
1 This name has been read differently: Grdselofi in Annales du Service, XLIV, pp. 304 ff. reads mh-kr, Vikentiev, ibid
XLVIII, pp. 665 fi. hwj-h-s (cf. Emery, Great Tombs, II, p. 103, n. 2); Griffith in Petrie, Royal Tombs, I, p. 44 snb-h (?) •
Scharfi, AUertiimer Vor- und Friihzeit, I, p. 189 sfo or hi with the town-determinative. In names of this kind it is always
possible that the first person suffix has to be added: ih-h(-l) ; see Emery, l.c., p. 103, n. 3. &h-h ‘he, who remembers the
Ka , is also a possible reading.
o
PART V
CHAPTER XIV
TOMB NO. 3500
CHAPTER XIII
INTRODUCTION
Tomb No. 3500 is situated immediately east of No. 2185, which was discovered by Quibell in
1912. It can be accurately dated to the reign of Ka’a and although smaller and less elaborate
in design than most of the First Dynasty tombs at Sakkara, it nevertheless is of considerable
interest, for it shows the definite transition in design from the conventional palace fa§ade super¬
structure to the plain facade type of the Second Dynasty with the single false door at the south
end. It is also remarkable for the four subsidiary burials of sacrificed servants which are the
latest in date at Sakkara; for this barbaric custom did not survive in the burial customs of the
Second Dynasty. The construction of these subsidiary graves is of considerable architectural
importance, for in them we have evidence of the earliest use of the leaning barrel vault as a
form of brick roofing.
ARCHITECTURE
*
General Description
(Plates 114 and 115)
The tomb consists of a plain facade brick superstructure with a single large niche flanked by
groups of three small niches at the south end of the east side. The interior of the superstructure
is divided into six large enclosures by brick cross walls. These enclosures were filled with sand
and were apparently not used as magazines, for no trace of any objects was found in them. The
only true magazine in the superstructure consisted of a small brick building with a wooden roof,
built in the centre of the enclosure north of the top of the burial pit. An enclosure wall surrounds
the superstructure on all four sides and has an entrance gateway in the south-west corner leading
direct to the south corridor in which are situated four subsidiary graves partly built beneath the
enclosure wall.
A stepped passage commencing under the east enclosure wall descends to a gateway blocked
by two portcullis stones. This gateway leads directly to a large rectangular pit cut on an east-
to-west axis, in which was built the burial chamber. The sides of the pit were shelved at the
commencement of the rock strata, apparently to give a foundation for rough stone retaining
walls built against the crumbling gravel walls. It is possible that the beams of the wooden roof
rested on this shelf which previous to the covering of the tomb had formed a narrow corridor
or triforium s imilar to Tomb 3506. However, no trace of the beam butts was preserved, so it is
impossible to be certain of the actual level of the roof.
There is also no trace of roofing in the entrance passage, which was found blocked solid with
brickwork; but it is possible that a wooden roof existed at ground level. The gateway on the
east side of the portcullis blocks, at the foot of the descending passage, was built of brick with
a stone lintel, but it is obvious that the roofing of the passage, if any, was built high above this.
On each side of the entrance to the burial chamber, flanking the portcullis grooves, are two
small magazines constructed at a high level, with floors just above the top of the rock strata.
Details and Measurements
The Enclosure Wall
The enclosure wall surrounding the superstructure was found standing to a maximum height
of 0-80 metre and up to this measurement showed no sign of a batter, both outer and inner
faces being vertical. It was sufficiently well preserved to show with certainty that only one gate
existed: at the south end of the west side. This is a unique feature, and has no parallel in similar
structures at Sakkara, where the entrance to the funerary complex is invariably from the east.
The corridor formed between the enclosure wall and the superstructure has a thin pavement
of packed mud originally faced with white gypsum plaster.
100
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Measurements: Total length north-south 37-10 metres
east-west 23-35 „
Thickness at base between 0-80 and 1-28 metres
Width of corridor: north side 1-60 metres
south „ 2-00 „
east „ 2-60 „
west „ 2-30 „
The Superstructure (Plate 117 a)
Massive walls of brick laid in alternate courses of headers and stretchers. The exterior face,
which is entirely plain with the exception of the offering niche at the south end of the east side,
has a batter of 8 on 1. The interior, divided into sections by cross walls, has a filling of clean
sand which completely buried the small magazine situated north of the substructure. The
maximum height of the walls as found was 2-00 metres. The east fa 9 ade showed traces of white
gypsum plaster.
Exterior measurements of the main walls: north 15-85 metres
south 15-90 „
east 31-60 „
west 31-90 „
Thickness of main walls: north and east 2-80 ,*
south and west 2-60 „
The magazine consists of a brick-lined rectangular pit with walls rising 0-50 metre above
ground level (Plate 117 b). It originally had a wooden roof consisting of planks supported by
thin beams. The magazine was divided by a cross wall into two parts; the west half reserved
entirely for the storage of wine-jars and the east with built-in cereal bins made of clay with
flat stone lids (Plate 118).
Measurements: North to south 3-15 metres
East to west 5-80 „
Depth 2-15 „
The Substructure
The Entrance Passage (Plate 120 A and b)
The passage starts its descent under the east enclosure wall leading directly west to the double
portcullis gateways and thence to the burial chamber. A subsidiary passage on a north—south
axis is situated on its south side below the east enclosure wall and joins it at a point 3-00 metres
from its commencement. This subsidiary passage may have been made as an alternative en¬
trance, for a north to south entrance to the substructure was becoming customary towards the
end of the dynasty as for example in Tomb 3505. However, it was found to be more firmly
packed with rubble than the main passage, which would suggest that it was built to relieve
congestion among the workers engaged in the excavation of the burial pit. The floors of both
passages were roughly stepped. The lower part of the entrance passage was blocked with a solid
mass of brickwork laid in header and stretcher formations, as was the stone-lintelled gate before
the first portcullis.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
101
Measurements: Length of main passage 9-30 metres
Width of main passage 1-10 „
Depth at foot of passage 4-25 „
Length of subsidiary passage 4-85 „
Width of subsidiary passage 0-90 „
Depth at foot of passage 2-15 „
Portcullis Gateway (Plate 119 b)
At the foot of the entrance passage are three gates separated by grooves; these support two
portcullis stones which were found in position. Both portcullises are of roughly dressed lime¬
stone, and the second block has two holes about 13 cm. in diameter at the top for the insertion
of lowering ropes. All three gates have stone lintels and the lower one, leading directly into the
burial chamber, has a wide stone step.
Measurements: First gate: Height 2-15 metres
^ J
'N.
Second gate:
Third gate:
First portcullis:
Height 2-15
Width 1-05
Depth 0-70
Height 2-10
Width 1-05
Depth 0-65
Height 1-90
Width 0-95
Depth 0-60
Height 3-10
Width 1-35
Thickness 0-30
Height 2-60
2-15 metres
1-05 „
Second portcullis: Height 2-60 „
Width 1-20 „
Thickness 0-25 „
North Magazine
Situated on the north side of the portcullis gateway. It consists of a small rectangular pit cut
in the grave to a depth of 2-10 metres below ground level. The north-east and west walls are
strengthened with roughly dressed stone and the south wall is of brick. No trace of roofing.
Measurements: North-south 1-50 metres
East-west 0-90 „
South Magazine
Situated on the south side of the portcullis gateway, it is similar to the north magazine.
Measurements: North-south 1-25 metres
East-west 0-60 „
The Burial Chamber (Plate 119)
A steep step beyond the second portcullis descends into the burial chamber, which consists
102
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
of a great rectangular pit. On all four sides, at a height about 3-20 metres above the floor level,
is a wide shelf on which rested a retaining wall of roughly dressed stone. Within the pit there
was no trace of interior brick walls, but these may well have originally existed.
Measurements: North-south 540 metres
East-west 8*10 „
The Subsidiary Graves (Plates 116 and 120)
Of the four subsidiary graves in the south corridor, two were found intact, and one with its
superstructure perfectly preserved, so that full details of design and construction were ascertain¬
able. This was particularly fortunate, for these graves, dated as they are to the end of the
dynasty, show a radical difference in both form and building from those of the usual type found
at Sakkara, Abu Roach, Takhan, and Abydos, which, of course, belong to the early and middle
periods of the dynasty.
The grave pit was cut at ground level and was partly overbuilt by the enclosure wall which
must have been constructed after the burial was installed.
Measurements: North-south 1-30 metres
East-west 0-70 „
Depth 1-20 „
After the installation of the burial the grave was not roofed with the usual timber, but with a
leaning-barrel vault of brick resting on a ledge cut on the east and west sides of the pit. The
leaning vault was built against the lower courses of the enclosure wall, which was completed
when the construction of the vault was finished. This is, of course, the earliest example of brick
vaulting yet found in Egypt.
Measurements: Length 144 metres
Width 0-90 „
Height 043 „
With the roofing of the grave a high, vaulted superstructure was raised above it. This structure
was built after the enclosure wall had been completed. On each of the long sides of the super¬
structure is a wide bench, and on the east fagade are two false doors with roller lintels modelled
in clay. The superstructure is built of brick with a solid sand core; the exterior was faced with
mud plaster painted white.
Measurements: North-south
1-05 metres
East-west 0-76
Height 0-72
Width of bench 0-20
Brickwork
Brick of dark grey measuring 22 by 12-9 cm.
CHAPTER XV
THE DISCOVERY
Work in the archaic cemetery was reopened after the long interval of the war on 1 May 1946
in an area immediately east of Quibell’s First Dynasty tomb No. 2185. 1 On 12 May test trenches
revealed the top of the superstructure of a large tomb situated between 2185 and the edge of
the escarpment. The first appearance of the plain fagade superstructure led me to believe that
the tomb belonged to the Second Dynasty, but as the clearance progressed with the production
of masses of pottery fragments it was soon established that the structure was to be dated to
the First Dynasty. This was confirmed at a later date by jar sealings of Ka’a, some of which
were found in the lower levels of the burial chamber. In this we were fortunate, for of all the
big First Dynasty tombs at Sakkara, No. 3500 was the most ravaged by repeated plundering.
The Superstructure
The clearance of the interior of the superstructure yielded nothing of importance except the
curiously isolated magazine which was the only part of the main burial installation which had
escaped the attention of tomb robbers. In the west room of the magazine forty-two large jars
of type A 2 were stacked in layers on their sides. All had uninscribed flat-topped sealings of
black clay and were found to contain a black sooty substance which would appear to be the
remains of meat, for fragments of animal rib-bones were in some cases found embedded in it.
The west compartment contained the two rows of built-in bins partly filled with emmer wheat
and in the passage between them lay a pottery dish of type K 3 in which were fragments of
charcoal and resin. Part of the timber roofing of the magazine was preserved.
The Substructure
The entrance stairway was undisturbed by the repeated plundering of the tomb and the brick
blocking and double portcullis stones were found intact. A group of five pottery jars of type B 3
and an alabaster cylindrical jar of type B 4 were recovered from the undisturbed filling at the
head of the steps.
The burial chamber was so completely ransacked that no trace of the burial installation
remained. Large quantities of broken pottery and stone vessels were recovered from the filling
and floor of the pit. Analysis showed the following approximate quantities and types: of pottery
31 of A 2, 2 of A 4, 6 of B 1, 2 of B 3, 18 of C 1, 5 of D 12, 8 of E 1, 1 of E 4, 21 of F 5, 2 of
H 2, 1 of J 1,1 of J 3, 6 of K 3; of stone vessels 7 of A 1, 4 of A 3, 37 of A 4, 3 of A 6, 1 of A 7,
4 of A 8, 3 of A 16, 17 of B 4,2 of C 1, 38 of C 4, 5 of C 7, 1 of G 2, 1 of G 9, 6 of S 3, 2 of S 6,
1 of S 10, 7 of T 2, 2 of T 6, and 1 of Z 2.
A limited number of badly broken jar sealings were recovered from the floor (see ‘Inscribed
Material’), as well as part of a pottery granary and cap, Cat. Nos. 1 and 2. A few flint imple¬
ments of types 7 and 9 and a small stone scraper (Cat. No. 3) were also found in the burial
chamber, but no other objects.
1 Quibell, Archaic Mastabas .
104
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
The earlier plundering of the tomb had been effected through a tunnel which entered the
burial chamber through the west retaining wall, just above the top of the rock strata. This
tunnel had been started through a hole cut in the floor of the east corridor. Later plundering
had obviously been achieved through the top after the superstructure had fallen, and we found
rough stone retaining walls built by the robbers in the course of their work.
The rock walls on the north and west sides of the burial chamber showed traces of fire, which
was also noted on some of the fragments of pottery and stone vessels.
The Subsidiary Burials
The four subsidiary graves were of identical design, details of which are shown on Plate 116.
Burial 1. Undisturbed. Wooden plank coffin measuring 0-83 by 0-58 by 0-58 metres, containing
the body of a middle-aged male, contracted on the left side, head south. Under the
right hand was a dummy cylinder seal of wood (Cat. No. 5) and below the pelvis a
foreign ware flask of type G 9. The body had been wrapped in coarse linen and a reed
mat had been placed over the lid of the coffin, under a layer of bricks (Plate 121 a).
Burial 2. Undisturbed. Wooden plank coffin measuring 0-90 by 0-60 by 0-58 metres, containing
the body of an old female, contracted on the left side, head south. Again, under the
right hand was a dummy cylinder seal of wood (Cat. No. 4) and at the feet two
foreign pottery flasks of type G 16. The body was wrapped in linen and the top of the
coffin was covered with a reed mat and bricks (Plate 121 b and c).
Burial 3. Undisturbed. Wooden plank coffin measuring 0'90 by 0 1 55 metres containing the body
of an old male, contracted on right side, head south. A reed mat had been placed
over the coffin under a layer of bricks (Plate 122).
Burial 4. Plundered. Empty grave.
CHAPTER XVI
THE CONTENTS OF THE TOMB
« “
Miscellaneous Objects
1. Lower half of a cylindrical pottery granary. Red ware with buff slip. Size: height 33-0 cm.,
width 27-6 cm. From the floor level in the north-east corner of the burial chamber.
2. Pottery cap from the top of a granary similar in design to those used on the built-in grain
bins in Tomb 3038. 1 Red ware with pink slip. Size: height 5-8 cm., width 11-7 cm. From the
filling of the burial chamber.
3. Scraper of brown quartzite. Size: length 9*8 cm., width 3-3 cm. From the filling of the burial
chamber.
4. Dummy cylinder seal of wood. Very faint traces of an inscription in red and black. Size:
height 2-9 cm., diameter 2*5 cm. From subsidiary burial 2.
5. Dummy cylinder seal of wood. No trace of inscription. Size: height 2-7 cm., diameter 2-3 cm.
From subsidiary burial 1.
Flint Implements
(Plate 125)
Type 7. Unifacial blade with pointed tip.
Total number: 17.
Provenance: all from the filling of the burial chamber.
Type 9. Unifacial rectangular scraper with rounded edges.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: 3 from the filling of the burial chamber; 3 in a group on the floor in the
centre of the burial chamber.
Pottery
(Plate 123)
Type A 2. Tall jar.
Total number: 73.
Provenance: 42 from the east compartment of the magazine; 13 from the upper level
of the burial chamber; 18 from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type A 4. Tall jar.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: from the filling of the burial chamber.
1 Emery, Great Tombs , I, p. 85.
106 GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type B 1. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type B 3. Bulbous jar.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: 5 from the filling of the entrance passage; 2 from the filling of the burial
chamber.
Type C 1. Jar.
Total number 18.
Provenance: from the filling above the burial chamber.
Type D 12. Jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type E 1. Jar.
Total number: 8.
Provenance: from the filling above the burial chamber.
Type E 4. Jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type E 5. Rough cylindrical jar.
Total number: 21.
Provenance: from the fillin g and floor of the burial chamber.
Type G 9. Flagon.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from subsidiary grave No. 1.
Type G 16. Flagon.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: from subsidiary grave No. 2.
Type H 2. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type J 1. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Type J 3. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the filling above the burial chamber.
Type K 3. Dish.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: 6 from the filling above the burial chamber; 1 from the west compartment
of the magazine.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Stone Vessels
(Plate 124)
Type A 1. Tall cylindrical jar.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: from the filling of the burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 28-0 cm.; max. width approx. 14-0 cm.
min. height approx. 17-3 cm.; min. width approx. 9-0 cm.
Type A 3. Tall cylindrical jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: from the filling of the burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 28-0 cm.; max. width approx. 11-0 cm.
min. height approx. 18-0 cm.; min. width approx. 9-0 cm.
Type A 4. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 37.
Provenance: 31 from the filling; 6 from the floor of the burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 18-0 cm.; max. width approx. 23-0 cm.
min. height approx. 6-5 cm.; min. width approx. 7-0 cm.
Type A 6. Short cylindrical jar.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: from the filling of the burial chamber.
Materials: 1 of limestone; 2 of alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 13-0 cm.; max. width approx. 12-30 cm.
min. height approx. 11-50 cm.; min. width approx. 9-30 cm.
Type A 7. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: floor of burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: height approx. 18-0 cm.; width approx. 8-50 cm.
Type A 8. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 4.
Provenance: 3 from the filling; 1 from the floor of the burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 25-0 cm.; max. width approx. 13-0 cm.
min. height approx. 20-0 cm.; min. width approx. 11-0 cm.
108
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
Type C 4. Cylindrical jar.
Total number: 38.
Provenance: from filling above the burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 41-0 cm.; max. width approx. 20*0 cm.
min. height approx. 13-50 cm.; min. width approx. 6-0 cm.
Type C 7. Slender cylindrical jar.
Total number: 5.
Provenance: from the filling above the burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 18-0 cm.; max. width approx. 7-0 cm.
min. height approx. 14-0 cm.; min. width approx. 5-30 cm.
Type G 2. Small shouldered jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from filling of burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 13-50 cm.; max. width approx. 11-80 cm.
Type G 9. Shouldered jar.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from floor of burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 19-0 cm.; max. width approx. 11-0 cm.
Type S 3. Deep bowl.
Total number: 6.
Provenance: from filling of burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 12-0 cm.; max. width approx. 23-0 cm.
min. height approx. 10-0 cm.; min. width approx. 17-0 cm.-
Type S 6. Deep bowl.
Total number: 3.
Provenance: from filling of burial chamber.
Materials: 2 of schist; 1 of alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 12-5 cm.; max. width approx. 31-0 cm.
min. height approx. 9-0 cm.; min. width approx. 21-0 cm.
Type S 10. Bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Material: volcanic ash.
Dimensions: max. height 5-3 cm.; max. width 14-8 cm.
GREAT TOMBS OF THE FIRST DYNASTY
109
Type T 2. Shallow dish.
Total number: 7.
Provenance: from filling above burial chamber.
Materials: 4 of alabaster; 3 of schist.
m
Dimensions: max. height approx. 8-0 cm.; max. width approx. 42-0 cm.
min. height approx. 3-0 cm.; min. width approx. 28-0 cm.
Type T 6. Bowl.
Total number: 2.
Provenance: from filling above the burial chamber.
Material: schist.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 6-0 cm.; max. width approx. 22-0 cm.
min. height approx. 5-8 cm.; min. width approx. 21-0 cm.
Type Z 2. Heavy bowl.
Total number: 1.
Provenance: from the floor of the burial chamber.
Material: alabaster.
Dimensions: max. height approx. 9-5 cm.; max. width approx. 15-0 cm.
Inscribed Material
(Plate 124)
The inscribed material from Tomb No. 3500 consists entirely of fragmentary jar sealings, all
of which were found scattered on the floor level of the substructure.
1. 4 examples of type 2.
Approximate dimensions: width 6 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: Single row of serekhs of Ka’a alternating with the group shm hry-lb ‘ruling in the
(king’s) heart’.
2. 9 Examples of type 2.
Approximate dimensions: width 5 cm., circumference uncertain.
Design: Single row of serekhs of Ka’a alternating with the group of the swimming man. The
s#ra-sceptre probably formed part of the group, but of this sign there is no trace.
3. 4, 5. 1 example of each. Possibly the same seal. Type 3.
Approximate dimensions: width 6-5 cm., circumference uncertain.
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TOMB No. 3505
PLATE 5
Subsidiary grave in the east corridor of Tomb 3505
Painted decoration of the large niche of the superstructure fa£ade
TOMB No. 3505 PLATE 6
* Painted decoration of the small niche of the superstructure fa 9 ade
TOMB No. 3505 PLATE
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TOMB No. 3505 PLATE
lavations with view of Tomb No. 3504 in the foreground
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PLATE 14
TOMB No. 3505
a. North-east corner of the superstructure
b. North-west corner of the superstructure
a. Head of the entrance stairway to the substructure
b. Foot of the entrance stairway to the substructure
PLATE 20
TOMB No. 3505
a. North shelf of the substructure
b. South shelf of the substructure
■*
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PLATE 22
TOMB No. 3505
b. Detail of the subsidiary grave
PLATE 24
PLATE 26
TOMB No. 3505
b. Human remains and part of the sarcophagus
PLATE 27
PLATE 30
TOMB No. 3505
Types of pottery vessels
OIM
PLATE 32
TOMB No. 3505
PLATE 33
TOMB No. 3505
PLATE 37
PLATE 38
TOMB No. 3505
Inscribed material
PLATE 4
SECTION ON ErB
3C3LE
METRES
TOMB No. 3506
SECTION ON
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WHLTER B. EMERY
REFERENCE
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PLATE 70
TOMB No. 3506
c
Examples of stone vessels
d
a. Superstructure of sub-burial No. 1
c. Sub-burial No. 2
d. Wooden roofing of sub-burial No. 2
a. Superstructure of sub-burial No. 3
c. Sub-burial No. 4
d. Sub-burial No. 5
6. Sub-burial No, 3
PLATE 72
TOMB No. 3506
PLATE 76
TOMB No. 3606
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Pot marks
TOMB No. 3506
PLATE 79
3
TOMB No. 3506
PLATE 83
Inscribed material
PLATE 84
TOMB No. 3506
Markings on jar-sealings
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VALTER. B.EMERY
PLATE 87
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b. Dog burial at the entrance gate
TOMB No. 3507
PLATE 91
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PLATE 92
TOMB No. 3507
Remains of tumulus superstructure below magazine walls
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b. Remains of tumulus showing brick casing
TOMB No. 3507
PLATE 93
a. Remains of tumulus below magazine walls
b. Limestone slab. Reverse
TOMB No. 3507
PLATE 97
a. Limestone slab. Obverse
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Limestone slab. Cat. No.
PLATE 100
TOMB No. 3507
a. Fragments of an ivory gaming-board frame. Cat. Nos. 75—78
b. Bracelets of schist, onyx, ivory, and flint
TOMB No. 3507
PLATE 101
b. Slate palettes
PLATE 102
TOMB No. 3507
Cat. No. 73
Cat. No. 72
Cat. No. 65
Ivory objects
Cat. No. 79
PLATE 104
TOMB No. 3507
c. Vessels of schist and diorite
e. Vessels of alabaster
b. Rock crystal vessels
d . Vessels of alabaster
a . Rock crystal vessels
a. Inscriptions on stone vessels
c. Clay jar sealings
b. Painted inscriptions on pottery
d . Clay jar sealings
TOMB No. 3507 PLATE 105
TOMB No. 3507 PLATE 107
Pot marks
S13
PLATE 114
TOMB No. 3500
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SiliBSS
METRES
REFERENCE
mm BRICK
£33 SHND
mm STONE
wood
E3H ROCK
GR3VEL
WALTER B EMERY
1949
TOMB No. 3500 PLATE 115
PLATE 116 TOMB No. 3500
a. Brick blocking of entrance stairway
b. First portcullis in the entrance passage
d. Superstructure of subsidiary grave
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PLATE 120
TOMB No. 3500
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PLATE 121
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